Crossbows and Dolls
by vinur1996
Summary: Daryl and Carol have a one night stand. Ten years later Daryl finds out he has a daughter and has to try to raise her on his own. AU, No zombies. Warning: Major character death. Rated M for sexual scene(s?), language and violence.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Walking Dead characters, but i do own the storyline. **

Carol walked into the semi crowded bar. It was a little more crowded than usual on a Friday night, but she didn't care, this was her night of freedom.

When Ed went on a fishing trip with his buddies, Carol felt like she was free, of course that would only last for a few days, but these few days were like a vacation for her, she could do anything she wanted. She had put on a light amount of make-up, curled her shoulder length hair and put on a fancy shirt and a skirt.

She hadn't felt this way in years, not since her wedding day. Ed always controlled her, decided what she wore, if she would wear make-up or not and who she would go out with. She was sick of it, his abuse, how he controlled her. But she couldn't walk away, because despite it all, she still loved him.

(Daryl POV)

Daryl sat by the bar, exhausted after a long day at work. He usually went to a less crowded bar, but he was too tired to drive all the way to the other end of town, this would have to do.

He had finished his third beer when a pretty blonde sat down next to him. She was obviously not from this part of town, she was too pretty, not like the other skanks that usually hanged out around this bar.

He wanted to buy her a drink, talk to her, anything. But he knew that there was no way she would talk to a filthy redneck like him. She probably just got lost, or her car broke down and she needed to call someone. But he could at least try, right? The worst thing she could do was to say no.

"Hi." He said and looked at her. He expected her to scoff and look away, but she didn't. Instead she smiled.

"Hi." She replied.

Daryl gave her a small smile in return and cleared his throat.

"I'm Daryl. Daryl Dixon."

"Carol Peletier." She said, and shook his hand.

xxx

They had been talking to each other for a few hours, and were both pretty drunk. A few guys had walked up to Carol, offered her drinks, but she always brushed them off, she was only interested in talking to Daryl.

"I should probably head home, it's getting late." Carol said.

"Want me to walk you home?" Daryl asked, hoping her answer would be yes, he didn't except to have this much fun tonight.

"Sure" She smiled and picked up her purse. Daryl quickly paid the bartender and together they walked out of the bar. After some small talk they finally arrived at her house.

"You want to come in? Get some coffee or something?" She asked hopefully. Daryl hesitated for a moment before nodding and following her into the house. Daryl looked around while Carol got them something to drink. It was a typical American house. A big, fancy living room with lots of pictures on the walls. A picture of Carol with an old lady who Daryl assumed was her mother. And a picture with Carol in a wedding dress with a man in a tuxedo standing next to her.

'_She's married?' _Daryl thought and at the same time Carol walked into the living room holding two beers.

"I figured you would rather want beer instead of coffee." She said and put the beers on the coffee table. She frowned when she saw the look on Daryl's face.

"You ok?" Carol asked.

"You're married?" He asked and pointed at the picture. Carol bit her lip, she knew she shouldn't be doing this, this felt so wrong but at the same time it felt so right.

"Divorced" She lied, "haven't had time to put these down." Daryl let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Carol held out the can of beer and Daryl quickly accepted it. She sat down on the sofa and signaled Daryl to sit down next to her, which he did.

"This is nice." She said after a few minutes of comfortable silence.

"Yeah" He said and took another sip of his beer. Carol put her empty beer can on the table and then suddenly felt Daryl's lips on hers. She knew she was supposed to pull away, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Ed deserved this. _She _deserved this. She deserved to be happy.

So she quickly responded by putting her hands in his hair and lied down on her back so Daryl was on top of her. Daryl broke the kiss when they were both in desperate need for air.

"You sure you want this?" He asked and looked down on her. She nodded and kissed him again. Daryl's hand began to stroke her thigh and she began to stroke his back. Carol deepened the kiss and started to remove his shirt.

Daryl was too drunk to care about the scars and began to take off her shirt while she stroked his hard abs. She could feel his erection pressing against her. In one swift motion, Daryl took off her shirt and threw in the floor.

A few minutes later they were both in just their underwear and Carol was now on top of him. They spent a few minutes just lying on the cough, kissing and exploring each other's bodies.

She could feel his hot breath blow into her ear, "You wanna move this to the bedroom?" He asked. She nodded and Daryl started to walk them to the bedroom with Carol legs wrapped around his waist. He lied down on the king sized bed with her on top and he quickly un-hooks her bra and throws it on the floor. He switched positions so he was on top and started to suck and bite at her hard nipple.

Carol moaned and arched her back, her hands in Daryl's hair. Carol felt her pulse quicken when he started to kiss her neck, his beard tickling her collarbone. His calloused hands began to stroke her inner thigh. He then grabs her panties, pulling them down her long legs. She then takes off his boxers and her soft hands began to stroke his shaft, Daryl lets out a moan and closes his eyes, enjoying the feeling of someone else toughing him.

She lets go of him and wraps her arms around his neck, pulling him down for another kiss before Daryl slowly, but surely slides into her. They both let out a moan and rest their foreheads together. Then Daryl starts to quickly thrust into her, burying his face in the crook of her neck.

Carol's nails dig into his shoulder and she closes her eyes, and in no time at all, she was reaching her peak. Feeling the sensation building in her stomach, she lets out a long moan and then reached her climax. Feeling her come was enough to send Daryl over the edge as well.

When they finally were able to catch their breaths, Daryl lied down next to her and put a hand around her waist. Carol fell asleep with a smile on her face for the first time in a long time.

**Ten years later**

Sophia sat in the hospital room, clutching her doll to her chest. The only sound she could hear was the beep of a heart monitor. She watched her mother lie in the hospital bed with her eyes closed.

Her father was nowhere around, probably out drinking with his friends. Ever since her dad found out that her mother had leukemia, he had been drinking more than usual. He was now taking all his anger out on 9 year old Sophia.

"Sophia?" Her mother rasped out, slowly opening her eyes. Sophia shot up from her chair, and was by her mother's side in a second.

"Yes momma?" Sophia asked and took her mother's hand in her's.

"I only have a few hours left. I want you to promise me something." Carol said and looked at her daughter.

"What is it?" Sophia asked, and was trying to hold back tears. She knew her mother's death was coming, she just wasn't prepared.

"Promise me that you will always be strong. And that you don't make the same mistake I did." Carol said with unshed tears in her eyes. Sophia nodded, tears streaming down her face.

"I promise" She whispered. Carol smiled at her daughter.

"There's something else I need to tell you. You're old enough and you deserve to know." Carol said and took a deep breath. "Ed is not your real father." She said.

Sophia furrowed her eyebrows. "What?"

"I'm only telling you this because I don't want you to live with Ed. When I was married to Ed, I slept with another man. I knew the moment I first laid my eyes on you that you were his, not Ed's." Carol said and squeezed her daughter's hand. Sophia still hadn't said a word, just looked at her mother with wide eyes.

"Sophia, do you want to meet your real father, or do you want to live with Ed? If you say that you want to live with Ed we can just forget I ever said anything. No one has to know." Carol said.

Sophia thought about it. She had always been afraid of her father, but she learned to love him, just because she was her father and she was supposed to love him. But when she found out that her mother was dying, she had been terrified knowing that she would have to live alone with Ed. Maybe her real father was different, maybe he was kind and didn't hit her?

"I want to meet my real dad." Sophia finally said.

Carol smiled and took her daughter's other hand. "You made the right choice."

Xxx

Daryl wiped sweat from his forehead, without air-condition, the heat in the cramped garage quickly became unbearable.

"Hey, Dixon! Come over here." Matt, his boss, yelled. Daryl quickly made his way over to the other end of the garage and walked into the office where his boss was standing.

"What?" He asked when he stopped in front of Matt. Standing next to him was a pretty blond, probably from the big city. Her 400 dollar heels and fancy clothes only proved that.

"This here is Andrea Harrison, a lawyer, she wanted to speak with you." Matt said before disappearing into the shop, leaving Daryl and the lawyer alone in the office.

"Andrea." The lawyer smiled and offered him her hand. He pulled out a red bandana from his back pocket and wiped the grease from his hands before shaking her hand.

"Daryl." He replied. Andrea sat down on an office chair and signaled him to do the same.

"What did Merle do this time?" Daryl asked after he sat down on the chair opposite from her.

"Excuse me?" Andrea said.

"Drugs? Don't tell me he killed someone this time." Daryl sighed. Andrea let out a low chuckle.

"No, this has nothing to do with this Merle." She gave him a small smile and picked up a briefcase.

"Do you remember a woman named Carol Peletier?" The lawyer asked. Daryl furrowed his eyebrows.

"Yeah. But I haven't talked to her in like 10 years." Daryl answered.

"Mrs. Peletier died a week ago from leukemia." Andrea said.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that. She was a nice woman." Daryl said and started chewing on his thumbnail, a habit he had a hard time getting rid of.

"Mrs. Peletier had a daughter. A daughter she claims to be yours." Andrea said. Daryl dropped his hand from his mouth and onto his lap, his mouth agape.

"Mr. Dixon?" Andrea said and waved her hand in front of his face when Daryl hadn't said anything for a few minutes. Daryl felt his hands go sweaty and his throat was dry. Suddenly the room became so much warmer. A daughter? There was no way that he had a kid!

Daryl cleared his throat and blinked a few times before finally returning his gaze on Andrea.

"Wh-what?" He stammered. "Ain't no way. I don't have a kid." He said, his voice raising.

"Mr. Dixon, if you could just calm down we co-" Andrea started but Daryl cut her off.

"Calm down? CALM DOWN? You want me to calm down after you dropped this – this bomb on me!" Daryl yelled and stood up. He looked like he was about to burst, his hands were in tight fists, and his face was hard.

But then suddenly he started laughing. "Where's Merle? This is one of his jokes, right?" Andrea sighed and sat back down, telling Daryl to do so as well.

"Mr. Dixon-"

"Call me Daryl."

"Daryl… I can assure you that this is not a joke." Andrea said. Daryl rubbed the back of his neck, he was in really deep shit this time.

"Do you know why she never told me that she was pregnant?" Daryl asked her in a quiet voice.

"Because she wanted her husband to believe that this was his child." Andrea replied and crossed her legs.

"She told me that she was divorced." Daryl said.

Andrea sighed, "Then she must have lied." She answered. Daryl took a deep breath and ran his hands thru his hair.

"What about this husband. Why did she tell anyone that this was my child now?" He asked.

"We have evident that show that Mr. Peletier is abusive. That Mrs. Peletier and her daughter are both victims of domestic abuse. Mrs. Peletier didn't want her daughter to live alone with him, so she decided to tell the truth." Andrea said. Daryl felt his blood boil, he took a few deep breath to calm himself down.

"I understand that this is a lot to take in. And you are not obligated to take care of your daughter. Mr. Peletier still has custody, but if you decide to take her in, you will receive full custody." Andrea said and stood up, picking up her briefcase. Daryl stood up as well and shook Andrea's hand.

Andrea handed him a name card. "Here's my number. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask. I'll give you a few days to decide what you want to do." She said and turned around, walking towards the door.

"Wait" Daryl said when she opened the door.

"Yes?"

"The kid… what does she want?" He asked. Andrea gave him a small smile.

"She wants to live with you."

Xxx

"Wait… so you have a kid?"

"Yep"

"That you didn't know about until today?"

"Yes"

"And if you decide to take her in you get full custody because her 'dad' is an abusive asshole?"

"Yeah"

Merle suddenly roared with laughter, and almost fell off his barstool. His brother sent him a dirty look and took another sip of his beer.

"You're really in deep shit this time little brother." Merle laughed and clapped his brother on the back.

"You think I don't know that?" Daryl hissed. Merle wiped the tears from his eyes once he had finally calmed down.

"So what are you going to do?" Merle asked and signaled the waitress to give them another round.

"I'm not sure." Daryl mumbled and drowned another shot of whiskey. Suddenly his older brother grabbed him by the jaw and made him look at him. And then spoke, his voice dangerously low.

"Now you listen to me boy. You told me that _your_ little girl is going thru the same shit we went thru when we were kids. I know that being a dad must be scary, especially when the kid is already 9 years old. But, if you don't do what's right, and take that little girl in… I will chop off your balls and feed them to a pack of stray dogs. Understood?" Daryl swallowed hard and nodded. His brother finally let go of his jaw and took a sip of his beer.

"I just have no idea how to be a dad." Daryl admitted and looked at his older brother.

"Wouldn't you rather live with someone that had no idea what they were doing instead of living with someone that hits you?" Merle asked. Daryl sighed and nodded.

"Plus, you could always take a DNA test to be sure. Lord knows I've had to take a couple of those." Merle said.

Xxx

The drive to the clinic was tense. Daryl was grabbing the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles were white and Merle wasn't sure if he was angry or nervous.

"You ok?" The older Dixon asked after a few minutes of very awkward silence.

"I'm fine." Daryl mumbled, not taking his eyes of the road.

"You shouldn't have slept with that girl in the first place." Merle said, making Daryl look at him thru narrowed eyes, Merle cleared his throat before continuing, "You know I always taught you that the body is a temple and you should not sleep with any girl until your married… maybe wait a year or two into marriage."

Daryl tried not to smile, but was failing miserably. Finally they both burst out laughing, easing the tension.

"Good lord, Merle." Daryl laughed. But his smile turned into a frown when they parked in front of the clinic. He saw Andrea waiting for them in the lobby, she wanted him to sign some papers before he left and they were supposed to decide when he would finally meet the girl. Merle gave him a reassuring smile before stepping out of the truck.

"Good morning." Andrea smiled when she saw the two brothers walk in.

"Morning." Daryl mumbled.

"Well hello, sugartits." Merle said and smiled when he saw Andrea.

"Merle! Shut up!" Daryl hissed which made Merle laugh.

"You must be Merle, pleasure." Andrea gave him a fake smile before returning her attention to Daryl.

"Are you ready?" She asked Daryl.

"Yeah. Where's the girl?" He asked and walked with Andrea to the reception, leaving Merle alone in the waiting room.

"She already gave her sample." She replied. Andrea talked to the receptionist and Daryl looked back into the waiting room, seeing Merle hitting on a girl.

"Daryl, when you're done giving your sample I will be waiting in there with Merle." She smiled.

"Where's my brother?" Merle asked once Andrea sat down next to him.

"Giving his sample, he'll be right back." She replied and picked up a fashion magazine.

"Hey, Blondie. How about you and me go off somewhere, bump some uglies? Were all gonna die anyway." Merle grinned.

"I'd rather." Andrea mumbled under her breath, never looking up from her magazine.

"Hey! I thought you were supposed to be nice to your clients." Merle said.

"I am, but you're not my client, your brother is." She replied, making Merle laugh.

Xxx

Daryl was still asleep when the phone rang.

"Hello?" He answered in a tired voice. He tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes.

"Daryl, this is Andrea. The results are in." Andrea said. Daryl shot up from the bed, suddenly wide awake.

"And?"

"You're the father." Daryl took a deep breath and sat down on the bed. Before he took the test he was 80% sure that he was the father, but hearing it just made it seem so… real.

"Does the girl know?" He asked.

"Yes, she knows. She took the news pretty well. But we still have the big question unanswered. Do you want to take her in and gain full custody?" Andrea asked.

"Yeah"

"Great, then you can meet her today at my office at four a clock." Andrea said before hanging up the phone. Daryl sighed and ran a hand over his face. Who knew that your life could change entirely in only five days?

Xxx

"You alright sweetheart?" Andrea asked Sophia, who was sitting on a couch in her office, clutching her doll to her chest.

"Yeah, just a little nervous." Sophia replied and smiled at the blonde.

"You'll be fine. I already met your father, he seems like a nice guy." Andrea smiled and ruffled the girls hair like she used to do to Amy, this little girl looked so much like her younger sister.

T-dog, Andrea's assistant peeked his head into the office, "He's here." He said.

"Thank you T." She said before returning her attention back to Sophia. "I'm going to talk to him for a second and then I'll send him in. Would you like to speak to him alone or do you want me to be here as well?" Andrea asked the young girl.

"Alone." Sophia answered after a moment of consideration.

"Alright." Andrea said before walking out of the office, leaving Sophia alone. She was nervous, she hoped that this man was nice, not like Ed. Her friend, Carl, has a nice dad. Yeah, she hoped this man was like Mr. Grimes.

The door opened, pulling Sophia from her thoughts, and a dark haired man walked in. He was tall and muscular, with a scruffy beard and blue eyes. His eyes were just like hers.

Daryl didn't remember ever being this nervous. This girl was way too pretty to be his. With her short blonde hair and blue eyes, hell, this had to be the most adorable kid he had ever seen. He wasn't sure what to do. It wasn't like she was going to run up to him, hug him around the waist and call him daddy. He wasn't really used being around children.

Surprisingly, Sophia was the one to make the first move. She walked in front of him and put her hand out.

"Hi. I'm Sophia." She said. Daryl smirked and kneeled down so he was on her level.

"I'm Daryl. Nice too meet you." He replied and shook her hand.

**What do you guys think? Should i continue? Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I just wanted to thank everyone that have been following/favoriting/reviewing the story, i really appreciate it.**

Ed paced around his living room, he was furious. Not only had his late wife cheated on him with some piece of shit redneck. But it turns out that this man was the father of his fucking child. Someone had to pay, there was no way he was going to let this slide. And he would start with that redneck. He was going to get his revenge, and he didn't care who would get hurt in the process.

Xxx

T-dog sat with Andrea outside her office while Daryl and Sophia talked.

"Poor kid. First her mother dies and she finds out that her dad isn't her real father." T-dog sighed. "And on top of it all she would rather live with a complete stranger instead of the man that she spent the first 9 years thinking was her dad." He added.

"I know. Much be tough." Andrea mumbled.

"How did this 'Ed' react?" T-dog asked.

"He was furious. Didn't want anything to do with her after he found out. I'm glad Daryl decided to take her in." Andrea answered.

Xxx

"I'm sorry about your mom." Daryl said. They were sitting next to each other on the couch, Sophia looked down when he mentioned her mother.

"Thanks" She said in a low voice. Daryl hesitated before putting a hand on Sophia's shoulder, noticing the way she flinched when he came to close. His heart dropped, she had to go thru the same shit he had to when he was younger. He wanted to kill the fucker that did this to her.

"Hey" He said, making Sophia look at him. "I'm not gonna hurt ya. I ain't like that." Sophia gave him a small smile.

"Andrea says you're nice. Do you have any other kids?" She asked. Daryl snorted, "Nah, just you." It felt strange for him to say that he had a kid, in fact he never wanted them. He really had no idea what he was doing, and that scared him.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" She asked. This time Daryl laughed.

"Nope, no girlfriend." He answered. They stayed silent for the next few minutes, Daryl fumbling with the zipper on his jacket. It wasn't a comfortable silence, but it wasn't an awkward one either.

"Have you been staying at your old house?" Daryl finally asked.

"No…" Sophia said and looked down at her shoes, "Ed didn't want anything to do with me when he found out, I've been staying at Carl's house."

Andrea peeked her head into the office, "Everything ok?" She asked.

"Yeah" Daryl answered. Andrea walked into the office and closed the door behind her. Then she pulled out an office chair and sat down in front of them, crossing her legs.

"I just wanted to talk to you both about a few things." She said and picked up a notebook. "Have you given any consideration to where Sophia will be staying?" Andrea asked and looked at Daryl.

"Nah, not really. She told me she had been staying at a friend's house. But if she wants I guess she could stay with me." He said. Sophia looked up, a smile appearing on her face.

"Really?" She asked and Daryl nodded.

"Great! Then we don't have to worry about that." Andrea said and wrote a few things in her book. When she was finished she returned her gaze to Daryl. "I talked to a few other lawyers, you should receive full custody in a few days."

"Alright."

"But right now you two are free to go." Andrea smiled and stood up. Daryl and Sophia stood up as well. After shaking Andrea's hand Daryl walked out of the office with Sophia following him.

xxx

"I have a few questions I want to ask you, if you don't mind." Sophia asked Daryl once they had sat down in Daryl's truck.

"Go ahead." Daryl answered.

"How old are you?"

"34"

"What's your favorite thing to do?"

"Hunting"

"Do you have any siblings?"

"One brother."

After asking Daryl several other questions, and learning that his favorite food is venison, and that he's scared of heights, she asked him a question that he didn't expect.

"Did you love my mom?" She asked and looked at him with big puppy-like eyes. Daryl looked down at her for a second before returning his attention back to the road.

"No. I didn't really know her that well." He finally said, "I might have, if I would have known her longer." He added and started to rub his lower lip with his hand while the other one hung loosely on the steering wheel.

"Mom told me that you have to love each other before you have sex." She said casually. Daryl laughed at her choice of words.

"Yeah, well, this was an exception." He finally mumbled without taking his eyes off the road. Then he realized that she really didn't have any stuff with her, only her doll and the clothes on her back.

"Where are your things?" He asked.

"At Carl's house. I had to go with Mr. Grimes to get it at my old house, because he's a cop." Sophia answered.

"Should we go get it now? You at least need a change of clothes." Daryl suggested.

"Yeah! Then you can meet Carl, he's my best friend!" She said excitedly, nearly bouncing up and down in her seat. After giving Daryl the direction of her friend's house, Sophia jumped out of the car when he parked into the driveway and ran to the front door. Daryl wondered for a second if he should follow her or not. He had never been a people person, he was actually surprised that he talked so much to Sophia. But then he figured that she probably needed help carrying her things, so he stepped out of the old truck, slamming the door behind him.

He suddenly found it ironic that he was voluntarily visiting a cop. It was a known fact that cops and Dixon's did not mix. He walked up the three steps up to the front door, he saw that someone had left the door open so he knocked on the doorway.

A few seconds later a smiling brunette walked up to him. He could clearly see the baby bump on her stomach.

"You must be Daryl." She said and extended her hand. Daryl gave her a small smile and shook her hand briefly.

"I'm Lori, Carl's mother." She added and leaned against the doorway. A moment later a man appeared, probably around Daryl's age, although his thick beard made him look older.

"I'm Rick Grimes." The man said and shook Daryl's hand firmly.

"Daryl Dixon." Daryl answered. After some small talk between the three grownups, Sophia finally came running down the stairs, carrying a backpack, and behind her was a grinning boy, holding a box. Rick smiled and put his hand on the boys head, Daryl assumed that this was Carl.

"She has a few more things upstairs, I'll go grab them." Rick said to Daryl then disappeared up the stairs.

"Is this him?" Carl whispered to Sophia, who rolled her eyes, "No, this is a spare one." She said sarcastically. Rick emerged down the stairs holding three full boxes. Daryl took one box from him and the box that Carl had been holding then walked to his truck, the other's following him.

After loading all the boxes in the bed of the truck, Sophia and Carl were sitting on the tailgate, laughing about something only children understood. Daryl turned to Lori and Rick.

"Thanks for letting her stay here." He said. Rick and Lori both smiled at him. "It was our pleasure." Lori said before turning around and heading back into the house, leaving Daryl and Rick alone.

"She's a really sweet girl." Rick said and turned to look at the two children. "Sophia's really smart, doing great at school. Has lots of friends." He added. Daryl smiled and felt and odd sense of pride well up in his chest. Then Rick turned to look Daryl in the eyes with a serious expression.

"But she has lost so much already. And she had to deal with abuse for years. We just have to know that you're going to treat her right, and be there for here." Rick said. Usually Daryl would have told him to fuck off, mind his own business. But he knew that everything that Rick just said was right, and he was going to do everything he could do to make Sophia happy, although he had no idea how.

"I will." Daryl said and shook Rick's hand.

"Come on Carl." Rick yelled and Carl jumped down from the tailgate, and ran after his father that was already halfway to the house. "Bye Sophia. Bye Mr. Dixon." Carl waved before running up the stairs.

"Bye Carl!" Sophia yelled back. Daryl opened the passenger's door for Sophia who jumped into the old truck. Then he made his way over to the other side of the car and quickly jumped in as well, the door squeaking as he opened and closed it, he figured that he probably soon needed to lubricate the doors.

About halfway to his house, Daryl turned to Sophia, who had been surprisingly quiet the whole way.

"You shouldn't be expecting a five star hotel." He mumbled. Sophia looked at him and narrowed her eyes, not sure what he was talking about.

"My house" he explained, "Ain't nothin' fancy but it's good enough. I wasn't expecting you would be living there so soon so I don't have a room ready for you. But you could sleep in my bed tonight, I'll just sleep on the couch." Sophia nodded and returned her attention to the road.

"Thanks" She said in a low voice. Daryl couldn't tell if something was bothering her or not, so he just assumed that the excitement of the day was wearing off.

Once they finally arrived, Daryl got out of the car and handed Sophia the smallest box and her backpack once she had gotten out of the truck as well. Then he picked up the three other boxes and walked to his house. Trying to fish the keys out of his pocket and holding three boxes turned out to be a difficult task and Daryl had to use his right hand, left knee and his chin to keep the boxes from falling.

Sophia giggled when she finally noticed him, at that point he was jumping up and down on his free leg so he wouldn't lose his balance.

"Well…" Daryl said once he had finally managed to get the door open, "This is it." He said when Sophia walked inside and laid the box on the floor next to the door. Daryl didn't really bother to make his house 'fancy', he would rather spent his money on a new crossbow or use it to fix his truck. So the house was just pretty basic, a brown couch with a small flat screen and a coffee table in front of it. An old coffee machine sitting in the kitchen. The small two bedroom apartment had a small backyard and a garage where Merle would sometimes work on his bike. The walls were painted white and he had a hardwood floor in all the rooms, except the bathroom, which had tiles.

"Oh my god!" Sophia gasped when a dog walked into the living room. Daryl had completely forgotten to tell her about the dog, he just hoped that she wasn't afraid of them.

"He's so cute!" She giggled and went down on her knees in front of the tricolored Border collie and scratched him behind his ears.

"Yeah, that's Chaos." Daryl explained and laid one of the boxes on the kitchen counter.

"What's chaos?" Sophia asked without looking up from the dog, who was clearly enjoying the attention.

Daryl chuckled, "The dog's name is Chaos." He explained.

"Why?" She asked.

"Because he was a real troublemaker when he was a puppy." Daryl said and sighed. "But when the guy that was trying to sell him told me that he was a blue merle I just had to buy him." He said and chuckled at the memory of seeing his brother's face when he told him the dogs color shared the same name as him.

"You're the cutest little guy I have ever seen!" Sophia said to Chaos in a baby voice. Chaos was now lying on his back, letting Sophia scratch him on the stomach with his tail wagging.

"Don't baby him. He's a watchdog, a dangerous fighting dog!" Daryl tried to reason, but soon lost his case when Chaos stuck out his tongue and let out a sound of pleasure when Sophia continued to scratch him.

"Yeah, if someone breaks in I'm sure he'll lick them to death." Sophia laughed. Daryl huffed and walked into his bedroom, quickly changing the covers on the bed for Sophia while she played with the dog.

"You hungry?" He asked when he walked back into the living room.

"Yeah" Sophia said and stood up from the floor, sitting down at the kitchen table. Daryl opened the freezer and frowned when he saw how little he had in there.

"I got some cheese and a coke." He laughed and looked at Sophia who had a horrified impression on her face.

"Eeeew, I'm not gonna eat raw cheese." She said and stuck her tongue out. Daryl snorted and picked up his cell phone.

"We can just order something." He said.

Xxx

After eating pizza and watching TV all night, Daryl looked to see Sophia fast asleep. He turned off the TV and stood up. He slowly picked her up bridal style, careful not to wake her up and carried her to his bed. She had already changed into her pajamas so he didn't have to worry about that.

He carefully lied her down on the bed and pulled the covers over her. Instead of walking straight back into the living room, he bent down and pulled a lock of her hair out of her face before placing a small kiss on her forehead. He wasn't sure why he did it, it just felt right. He then turned off the lights in the bedroom and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

After brushing his teeth and changing into pajama pants and a white t-shirt, he lied down on the couch and pulled the blankets over him. Falling into a peaceful sleep.

**Tbc**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead. **

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews,favorites and follows :)**

"So when do I get to meet my niece?" Merle asked over the phone. Daryl sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I dunno. I want to make her to get used to me first, ya know?" Daryl replied and looked into the living room where Sophia was playing with Chaos.

"Oh come on, I've been waiting forever to meet her!" Merle said. Daryl could hear people talking in the background so Merle was probably in some bar, or it was his television he was hearing. Daryl wasn't sure that Sophia was ready to meet his brother. She seemed to be doing surprisingly well being around him, but Merle was a completely different story.

"I don't know…" Daryl said and rubbed his goatee.

"I promise I won't be scary, I'll smile and everything." Daryl could hear Merle chuckle.

"Fine, but try to dial down the racism, sexism, cussing and… just be normal, okay?" Daryl sighed.

"Ain't I always?" Merle answered and hung up the phone.

Xxx

Merle parked his bike in front of his brother's house. He was surprised to find out that his brother had a kid, Daryl had never been the type to do one night stands. And he knew that Daryl was probably scared shitless, their dad had always been a mean bastard, using his fist instead of his mouth. Daryl was probably worried that he would end up like him, but Merle had made a promise to himself to make sure that Daryl wouldn't do that. Merle may not be some lovey-dovey type, but he did have a soft spot for children… not that he would ever admit that to anyone.

So he walked up to the front door and let himself in. Completely oblivious of the car parked few houses away, with Ed Peletier watching the house closely.

"Hey little brother!" Merle said when he spotted Daryl sitting on the couch with Sophia, Chaos sitting between them with his tongue hanging out. Daryl stood up when Merle walked in.

"Well hello sweetheart, I'm you uncle Merle." Merle said to Sophia and grinned. Sophia didn't seem as bold around Merle like she was around Daryl but gave Merle a small smile.

"Hi." She said in a low voice.

"Nah, she can't be your daughter Daryl, she's too cute." Merle said, causing Sophia to giggle. Merle walked to the refrigerator and grabbed something to drink.

"You don't have any beer?" Merle didn't wait for an answer and grabbed a coke. After taking a few sips of the soda he put the can down and returned his attention to Sophia.

"So how has my brother been treating ya?" He asked and leaned against the doorway in the kitchen.

"Fine, he's real nice." Sophia said and patted Chaos, she had taken a real liking to the mutt.

"Yeah, he was always the sweet one my baby brother." Merle chuckled. Daryl still hadn't said a word, just watched the exchange between his brother and daughter.

"What have you two been up to?" Merle asked. He walked into the living room and patted Chaos on the head before sitting down on the couch.

"Not much, just watched some TV." Sophia said without looking up.

"That's it? Daryl, that's no way to treat a lady! What do you say we do something fun?" Merle asked Sophia. Sophia looked up and grinned, "Like what?" She asked.

"Hmmm, the zoo?" Merle suggested. Sophia's face lid up.

"Yeah!" She said and stood up.

"Let's go then! No use wasting daylight." Merle said and stood up, walking towards the front door and waiting for Sophia to put on her shoes.

"Come on!" Sophia said to Daryl once she had finally put on her sneakers, she didn't seem too able to wipe that grin off her face. Daryl rubbed the back off his neck, still progressing what just happened.

"Damn it Merle." Daryl mumbled under his breath while putting on his work boots. But he had to admit that this went much better than he expected.

"Behave." He said, pointing at Chaos before closing and locking the front door.

Xxx

"Alligator eggs become male or female depending on the temperature, male in warmer temperatures and female in cooler temperatures." Daryl suddenly said while the three of them looked at a couple of alligators who didn't seem interested in doing anything but staying still.

"Really? That's cool." Sophia said.

"It's weird." Merle mumbled. The Dixon brothers hadn't been in the zoo since they were little kids and were enjoying this just as much as Sophia.

"This is boring." Sophia frowned, crossing her hands over her chest, "they're just lying there." She added, gesturing to the alligators.

"Yeah, but it's getting late anyway, I think we should head back." Daryl said. Merle and Sophia both groaned.

"Party pooper" Merle mumbled. They turned around and started walking towards the parking lot. It was almost dark out, but the place was still pretty crowded. Tired parents were being dragged by their children, who were probably pumped with sugar. Daryl wondered what it would have been like if Carol told him that she was pregnant, if he could have been there for Sophia from the start. Would he and Carol gotten married? Or maybe he wouldn't want anything to do with the baby. Sadly, the second option was more likely. Ten years ago he would have freaked out, not being ready to face the responsibility. So a part of him was glad that it turned out this way.

"I have to go to the bathroom." Sophia said when they reached the exit.

"Alright, we'll wait here." Daryl said and showed Sophia the direction to the bathroom, which was only a few feet away. Sophia walked to the bathroom and opened to door to the ladies room when she reached it. She had to wait a few minutes in line but finally it was her turn. After washing her hands she walked back outside. She gasped when she felt someone grab her upper arm. She was just about to scream when that person covered her mouth.

"Ssssh, be quiet for daddy." Sophia froze in fear when she realized who it was. Ed.

Ed dragged her behind the bathroom so no one could see them. He looked around a few times to make sure that no one would notice them before turning his attention back to Sophia.

"If you make a sound I will hit you, understood?" Ed growled and pointed a finger at Sophia, who nodded, too scared to move or say anything anyway. Ed slowly removed his hand from her mouth.

"Now you listen to me, I should punish you for picking that redneck trash over me but I ain't gonna do that, because I need you to do something for me." Ed whispered, his face was only a few inches from Sophia's.

"I need you to help me to get back at that man. He did something bad and now he needs to be punished. Can you do that? Are you going to help me?" Sophia knew that he wouldn't hesitate to hit her if she said no. She had lived with him for years, she knew what he was capable of. So she slowly nodded yes while trying to hold back tears.

"Good girl. We're gonna be a family, just like your momma wanted. We just have to make sure that he gets what he deserves first." He growled. Sophia tried not to gag when she smelled his disgusting breath.

"I'll come back to talk to you when I have a plan, you just pretend everything's normal until then, okay?" Again, Sophia nodded.

"Good girl. But if you don't do as I say, or tell him that I talked to you…" Ed took a deep breath before continuing, "I will kill both of you, understood?"

"Y- Yes." Sophia stammered. Ed grinned and patted her shoulder. "Go on now." He said and pushed her in the direction Daryl and Merle were in. She started walking away when she heard him call her name.

"Remember, were gonna be a family again." He said and smiled. Sophia felt a shudder run down her spine and continued walking away.

"What took you so long?" Merle said when she finally reached the two brothers. Sophia didn't answer, just continued to walk. The brother's exchanged worried looks.

"Sophia? You alright?" Daryl asked and put a hand on Sophia's shoulder. She jumped when he touched her.

"Wh-what?" She asked, her voice slightly shaking. Daryl removed his hand from her shoulder and repeated his question.

"I asked if you were ok?" Sophia swallowed hard and nodded her head. "Yeah, I'm fine."

The brothers weren't satisfied with that answer, but didn't want to push it. The three of the walked to the truck and drove home.

**7 weeks later**

Sophia still hadn't said anything about Ed talking to her, too scared that he would kill them like he said he would. But it came harder and harder for her to keep her mouth shut the longer she stayed with Daryl. The two of them had become much closer the last few weeks. Sometimes Sophia thought that Ed had forgot all about her and just decided to leave them alone. But deep down she knew he didn't.

Sometimes she thought it would be best if she told Daryl, but it was such a long time ago, she was afraid that he would get mad at her for not telling him right away.

After living with her Ed all those years, she had always been uncomfortable and scared around grown men. It was okay for her to be around them and talk to them, but if they came too close, she would tense up right away. But after spending so much time with Daryl, she had learned that not every man wanted to put his hands on her.

She woke up a little later than usual. A few days after she moved in, she and Daryl had started working on her room, buying furniture's and painting. When she lived with Ed, she never got to have anything like she wanted, it was like living in a prison.

She stretched her sore limbs before getting out of bed and walking to the bathroom. She could see Daryl in the kitchen, drinking coffee and reading the paper, something she noticed he did every morning before going to work. Usually when he was at work, she would spent time at Carl's house. She would bring Chaos with her and the three of them would spend the whole day running around and playing games. They were usually so exhausted in the end of the day that she would fall asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.

"Morning." Daryl said when she walked into the kitchen after brushing her teeth.

"Good Morning." She replied and waited for Daryl to get her a bowl from the cupboard. It had become a routine for them: Daryl would wake up before she did, make himself a cup of coffee and read the paper while she woke up and brushed her teeth. Then she would walk into the kitchen and he would hand her a bowl because she was too short to reach all the way up to the top shelf. Then they would both get ready for the day before Daryl dropped her off at the Grimes house and then he would drive to work. Something they developed over time.

"You sleep okay?" He asked and took another sip of his coffee, he frowned when he realized that the coffee was already cold.

"Yep" She said and shoved another spoon of Captain Crunch in her mouth.

"Good. I'll be off work around six today, can you ask Rick to drive you home?" Daryl asked.

"Sure." She said and smiled at him. She still hadn't started calling him 'dad', but she was getting closer every day. Daryl frowned and stretched his neck to look behind Sophia, only to see Chaos throwing up in the living room.

"Have you been giving him candy again?" Daryl asked and raised an eyebrow at Sophia.

"No! It was Carl this time." Sophia said and looked down shyly. Daryl shook his head and walked to the living room, grabbing Chaos by the collar and leading him into the backyard so he wouldn't throw up in the house again.

"I guess he has to stay home today." Daryl said and walked back into the kitchen, grabbing a cloth and soaking it with soap and water to clean up the mess the dog had made.

"Fucking Carl…" Sophia mumbled.

"Hey! Watch yer mouth." Daryl warned. Sophia mumbled a quiet sorry before putting her bowl in the sink and then walked into her bedroom to get dressed.

Xxx

"You gonna be okay?" Daryl asked when he parked in front of the Grimes house.

"Yep." Sophia replied and unbuckled her seat belt. She opened the passenger's door and slid down the seat, landing softly on the concrete below.

"Alright, have a nice day." Daryl said and gave her a small smile.

"You too." She replied and closed the door. Daryl drove away and Sophia started walking towards the front door. But before she was even half way there, Carl came running to the yard.

"Hi Sophia! Guess wh-… where's Chaos?" Carl asked and stopped in front of his friend.

"He got sick again because you gave him candy." Sophia said and the two of them walked back into the house.

"Oh…" Carl replied with his hands in his front pockets. "Will he be okay?" He asked and opened to door, letting Sophia walk in first.

"Yeah, he just threw up a little." She answered. She spotted Lori in the kitchen. Lori seemed to get bigger and bigger every day, she was almost seven months pregnant now. Lori gave her a warm smile when she noticed her.

"Hello Sophia." She said before returning to her earlier task, Sophia figured she was making a pie of some sorts.

"Hi, Mrs. Grimes." Carl poked Sophia in the arm, making her look at him. "What?" She asked.

"Come on, I have to show you something!" Carl replied and dragged Sophia up the stairs to his bedroom.

Xxx

Sophia looked at the clock, it was almost five and she knew she would have to get home soon, but Mr. Grimes was still at work. It only took few minutes a drive, so it would probably only take her ten or fifteen minutes to walk.

"I should probably go, it's getting late." Sophia said. Carl looked up from the game of cards they were playing and looked at his friend. "But your dad ain't here."

"Yeah, he's working late so I'm just gonna walk." She said and stood up. Carl stood up as well and together they walked downstairs.

"You gonna bring Chaos tomorrow?" Carl asked once they reached the front door.

"Yeah" She replied, "He'll probably be fine by then."

"You sure you don't want my mom to drive you?" Carl asked and leaned against the doorway. Sophia shook her head no, "She's busy, I'll be fine." She gave him a reassuring smile. After bidding goodbye, Sophia started walking home. She had driven the way many times so she knew where she was going, she wasn't worried about getting lost.

It was a little colder than usual, so Sophia wrapped her arms around herself, trying to stay warm. But the thin sweater she was wearing wasn't really helping. After walking for about ten minutes, she knew she was close to home.

Suddenly a car appeared next to her. Sophia thought nothing of it, just continued walking, but froze when she heard _him. _

"Get in the car." Ed said and opened the passengers door. Sophia didn't look at him, she didn't even stop, she just continued walking.

"I said get in the car!" Ed said harsher than before. This time Sophia stopped and looked at him.

"No." Was all she said before continuing walking. Ed growled and jumped out of the car. He only had to take a few steps before catching up with her and yanking her arm.

"Let me go!" Sophia said and tried to free herself from his strong grip. She started to scratch at his arm but he still had a firm grip.

"Stop it!" He hissed and grabbed her free arm. "You still remember our deal?" He asked.

"No! I'm not doing anything you want." She said thru gritted teeth. Ed's frown became even deeper. He drew his arm back and slapped her across the cheek. Sophia gasped in surprise. She tried to hold back tears, it hurt much more than she expected.

"You little bitc-" Ed started but stopped when he heard someone shout behind him.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing?" Sophia looked at her rescuer, seeing a young Asian man with a baseball cap on his head. Ed growled and let go of her arm.

"You're gonna regret this." He said before disappearing into his car and speeding away before anyone could call the police. Sophia touched her sore arm, it would probably bruise.

"Are you okay?" The Asian man asked and kneeled in front of her. Sophia looked at him, her vision slightly blurry do to unshed tears.

"Y-yes. Thank you." She said in a low voice. The man gave her a kind smile. "No problem. You need anything?" He asked.

"No, I'm just gonna go home." She replied. The man stood up and fixed his cap.

"I'm Glenn. You want me to walk you home?" The man asked. Sophia thought about it for a moment, it would only take her a few minutes to walk home, but she would feel better with Glenn along.

"Sure. If it's not too much trouble?" She said.

"Nah, I'm not doing anything anyway. Just came from a friend's house." He said and the two of them starting walking.

"Who was that man?" He asked after a few minutes of comfortable silence. Sophia frowned, who was Ed to her? He wasn't her dad. Her stalker? Her mom's old husband?

"Just some guy." She replied. She stopped in front of her house and turned to Glenn.

"Thank you mister." She said and looked up at Glenn. Glenn gave her a small grin, not used to being called mister.

"No problem. You gonna be okay?" He asked her. Sophia nodded and smiled. She waved him goodbye before walking to the house and unlocking the door, using the key that Daryl had given her.

After closing the door and removing her shoes, she felt her body carry her to her bedroom, where she lied down on her bed. It was like every emotion hit her at once, and she started crying into her pillow.

Xxx

Daryl came home exhausted. He wanted nothing more than to eat, shower and then spend some time with his girl before finally going to sleep. He knew that Sophia was already home because the door was unlocked.

"Hello." He called out but received no answer. He took off his work boots and started looking for Sophia. He finally found her in her bedroom. He frowned when he noticed she was crying. Chaos was by her side and she had buried her face in his soft fur. Daryl had never been good at comforting someone, but he knew he had to do something.

"Are you ok?" Stupid question, of course she wasn't okay. He sat down on the edge of the bed, the furniture slightly creaking under his weight.

"Sophia…" He said and put his hand on her back. "What happened?" Sophia didn't acknowledge him. Chaos looked up at Daryl with sad eyes, expecting him to fix her.

"Is this about yer mom?" Daryl asked. Sophia shook her head no. Sophia had removed her sweater and Daryl noticed the bruises on her arm.

"What happened to your arm?" He asked, his voice was slightly harsher. Sophia stopped crying and slowly sat up, but still avoided looking at him.

"Nothing, I just fell." She lied. Daryl inspected her arm.

"Really? Because it looks like someone grabbed ya." He said. He knew the bruise was too big for it to be Carl.

"If I tell you, will you promise not to be mad?" Sophia asked and finally looked at Daryl. Daryl knew he couldn't promise anything, his temper had always been a problem.

"Tell me what?" He asked. Then Sophia told him everything, about how Ed threatened her in the zoo and when he talked to her and hit her earlier that day. Daryl felt rage burn thru him, he had never so mad in his entire life. He stood up from the bed and ran a hand thru his hair, forcing himself to calm down.

"I knew you'd be mad." Sophia said, her voice cracking. Daryl put his hands on his hips and took a few deep breaths.

"I ain't mad at you." He finally said and sat back down.

"You're not?" Sophia asked and looked at Daryl.

"No. You didn't do anything wrong." He said and put a hand on her shoulder. "But you should have told me right away." Sophia nodded and pulled her knees to her chest.

"I'm sorry." She said. Daryl pulled her into a tight hug.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of this."


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead. **_  
_

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews, favorites and follows :)**

_Sophia ran up to her house, opening the front door, then slamming it behind her. _

"_Mommy?" She called out, but received no answer. She put down her bag next to the couch then checked into the kitchen to see if her mom was there. Instead she found Ed. He was sitting by the kitchen table in only boxers and a wife beater, a few empty beer cans scattered on the table around him._

"_Dad? Where's mommy?" She asked, standing in the doorway. Ed turned his gaze to her, his eyes slightly red and he couldn't look directly at her. _

"_The fuck do I care?" He said, his speech slurred. He finished the can of beer in his hand then stood up, stumbling slightly and grabbing the chair for support, then he walked to the refrigerator to grab a new beer. _

"_Dad…" Sophia said carefully, looking at the ground, "my class is going on a trip next week, were going camping in the woods but we have to pay an-" She started, but stopped when she heard Ed slam the refrigerator door shut. Ed walked towards her in angry steps. Sophia wanted to run away but knew it would only make matters worse. _

"_I ain't paying shit for some camping trip. We can't fucking afford it anyway." He hissed then sat back down by the kitchen table, popping his beer open and taking a sip. _

_Sophia felt herself get angry, and couldn't stop the next words that came out of her mouth, "Then why the hell can you sit on your ass all day and drink beer?" Her eyes widened and she covered her mouth with her hands. _

_Sophia flinched when Ed threw the beer can at the wall next to her. Ed stood back up and grabbed her by her hair, causing Sophia to yell out in pain. _

"_What the fuck did you just say?" He hissed. He pulled harder when she didn't answer, "I asked you a question!" _

"_I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean it!" She cried. Her knees felt weak and she was sick to her stomach. _

_Ed stared at her with hard eyes for a few seconds, "I'll show you what happens when someone talks back to me." He growled and grabbed Sophia's arm. _

_Sophia's eyes filled with tears. Her mom had always been able to protect her from her father's beating, but she wasn't here this time._

_She was on her own._

Xxx

Daryl parked his old, beat up truck in front of The Peletier house. It was the same house that Carol lived in all these years ago. But it was a lot older. The paint was weathered and peeled off in spots. The garden was overgrown. Sickly green weeds were creeping over the path and the small garden pond was covered in slime. Ed probably didn't bother to take care of it, not that Daryl was surprised.

The house didn't seem like it belonged in this street. The other houses were well taken care of, Daryl could see kids playing in the street and women were working on the gardens.

Daryl opened the door to his truck and stepped onto the hot concrete, closing the door behind him. He didn't bother to lock the car, this would only take a few minutes.

He jogged up to the house, trying not to draw attention to himself. He then knocked on the door and waited patiently for a few minutes.

Finally Ed opened the door. His eyes widened at the sight of Daryl, but before he could say anything, Daryl punched him in the jaw. Ed stumbled back a few steps, shock clearly plastered on his face.

Daryl took the opportunity to walk inside and close the door behind him. The house didn't look any better on the inside. It smelled like cigarettes and sweat. Pizza boxes and beer cans scattered around along with other trash.

"I'll call the cops." Ed warned while holding his sore jaw.

Daryl snorted, but his face grew serious right away. He punched Ed again, this time in the nose. He didn't give him much time to recover, Daryl grabbed Ed by the collar, slamming him against the wall.

"The only reason I haven't called the cops is so that I can take care of you myself." Daryl growled and kneed Ed in the gut, knocking the wind out of him.

Daryl let go of Ed, causing him to fall to the ground and Daryl stepped back, looking down at his sore knuckles, he knew he would feel pain later, the adrenaline keeping him from feeling pain right now.

But the fat bastard had more fight in him than Daryl thought, so when Daryl was distracted, Ed grabbed his calf and simultaneously pulled the leg towards him whilst pushing into the knee with his shoulder. Causing Daryl to fall down as well.

But Daryl was quick, all those years living with Merle and his father had given him quick reflexes.

Ed went for another shot, but Daryl shoved him off. He was quick back on his feet and started kicking Ed repeatedly in the kidneys and ribs.

He avoided kicking him in the head. The last thing he needed was that Ed would die and he would end up in prison for murder.

He continued kicking him until he knew Ed wouldn't get back in his feet for a while. Daryl bent down on his level, knowing that he wouldn't put up a fight this time.

"Listen to me you sick fuck," Daryl growled and grabbed Ed's bloody face, he had probably broken his nose on that second punch. "She's my daughter, not yours. If I catch you near her again I will not stop next time." He added.

He didn't wait for an answer, instead he stood up and walked towards the door. He took a last look at Ed lying on the ground, spitting up blood, before he walked back outside.

Hopefully Ed would get the message.

Don't mess with a Dixon.

Xxx

"Poker! I win." Sophia yelled excitedly and picked up her prize, a pack of Oreo's and a snickers bar.

"You don't say poker when you win." Merle mumbled, trying to figure out how he managed to lose to a nine year old. Merle had been keeping Sophia company (only because he didn't want to call it babysitting) while Daryl had a _talk _with Ed.

"You played before?" Merle asked. Sophia shook her head no.

"Well hot damn. You're a natural!" He chuckled. Sophia smiled and opened her pack of Oreo's, offering Merle a cookie before taking one herself.

Sophia was about to say something when Daryl walked into the house. They had told her that he went to pick up some groceries so Daryl had to go to the store before coming back home, so Sophia wouldn't suspect something.

"How did it go?" Merle asked when Daryl walked into the kitchen.

Daryl looked briefly at Sophia before turning his gaze to Merle. "Fine."

Sophia gasped when she noticed Daryl's bruised knuckles. "What happened to your hands?" She asked.

"Pack your bags." Daryl said, completely ignoring her question. He put down the grocery bag on the counter then started walking towards his bedroom.

"What?" Sophia asked, and stood up.

"Were going camping." Daryl called over his shoulder.

Sophia furrowed her eyebrows and looked at Merle, expecting him to explain his brother's strange behavior. Merle just shrugged his shoulders and raised his hands in an I-don't-know gesture.

Xxx

"Why are we suddenly going camping?" Sophia asked and handed Daryl her bag so he could put it on the bed of the truck.

"Because it's fun and you'll be going back to school soon, you need to go camping at least once every summer." Daryl said and finished loading everything in the truck.

"Go wait in the truck, I just have to talk to Merle for a sec." Daryl said. Sophia nodded and hopped into the truck, Chaos jumping in after her. Daryl turned around and walked towards the front porch where his brother was standing, smoking a cigarette.

"You sure you don't want to come with us?" Daryl asked and stopped in front of his brother.

"Nah, I got some stuff I need to do anyway." Merle answered and took another drag of his cigarette. "So what did you do to this 'Ed' guy?" Merle asked.

"I took care of it. If he ain't half as stupid as I think, he won't bother her again." Daryl said. I took every ounce of self-control for him to not go in there and kill the guy.

Merle nodded, putting out his cigarette then walking towards his bike.

"Have fun." He said, then started the bike and drove away. Daryl turned around, making sure the house was securely locked before walking to the truck.

"You ready?" He asked once he had sat down in the driver's seat and started the car.

"Yep" Sophia smiled.

Xxx

"Ever been camping before?" Daryl asked when he finished pitching the tent.

Sophia frowned, the only time she was supposed to go camping, Ed had told her no, then gave her one of the worst beatings in her life when she talked back. She didn't want to think about that.

"No." Sophia said, playing with the dirt underneath her with the tip of her shoe. Daryl didn't notice her change of mood, instead he walked to the truck to get the rest of their stuff before putting it inside the tent.

"Wait…" Sophia said and looked up, "We didn't bring any food."

Daryl smirked, then picked up the last item in the truck, his crossbow. "I know."

Sophia stared in disbelief at the weapon, "No, no, no, no"

"Yes, were gonna hunt our own food." Daryl said and shouldered his crossbow. "Let's go." He said and started walking towards the woods.

"No way!" Sophia said and crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm not going in there! It's full of bugs, and people get lost in there all the time."

"You're a Dixon. Dixon's love the woods." Daryl stated.

"But-"

"No buts. Now let's go, it's getting dark soon." Daryl said. Sophia groaned and followed after Daryl.

Xxx

"This blows…" Sophia groaned. Daryl grabbed her wrist and helped her step over a large log before continuing to walk forward.

Sophia noticed that Daryl was much more confident in the woods. Back home he was always so stressed, especially around a lot of people. Here he seemed kind of relaxed.

Sophia suddenly felt something sticky connect to her face and neck, she screamed when she realized what it was. Spider web.

"Eeeeeeew! Get it off! Get it off!" She yelled and tried to get the web out of her hair. Daryl put down his crossbow and kneeled in front of her, helping her get the hardly noticeable web out of her hair. After a few minutes, she was spider web-free.

"I wanna go back." She said. Crossing her arms and pushing her lower lip out.

"Your pouting, Dixon's don't pout." Daryl said and stood back up, picking his crossbow from the ground. "If you wanna eat, we keep going. If you wanna starve, we go back. Your choice."

"Fine. But if I get eaten by a spider, it's your fault." She warned and kept walking.

"Spiders don't eat people." Daryl said.

"Some do."

"Oh yeah?" Daryl laughed, "What kind?"

"The giant-man-eating-spiders. They are known for eating people in the woods. Especially in Georgia." Sophia answered.

"How come I've never seen them? I've been in the woods my whole life." Daryl asked and glanced around. So far they hadn't caught a thing, but he knew they would find something.

"Because they only like to eat small girls." Sophia said, not backing down.

"But you said they're called giant-MAN-eating-spiders. Shouldn't they be called giant-girl-eating-spiders?"

"I don't know! I'm not the one who named them!" Sophia said. Daryl laughed, knowing if he kept going he would only make her mad, so he decided to drop it.

"Alright, alright. But let me know if you see one, so I can kill it before it eats you." Daryl smirked and held his hands up in a mock surrender.

"I'll make sure of that." Sophia mumbled.

A few minutes later, Daryl went down on his knees, and signaled Sophia to do the same.

He put his index finger up to his mouth, signaling her to be silent. Sophia noticed what he was looking at, a squirrel was sitting in a tree not far from them. Completely oblivious of their presence.

Daryl raised his crossbow and pulled the trigger. The small furry creature fell to the ground. Daryl stood up and walked towards the squirrel, picking it up then pulling the arrow out of it.

"Did you have to kill it?" Sophia said in a low voice behind him.

Daryl raised his eyebrows at her, "We can't exactly eat it while it's still alive… unless you're into that kind of stuff." He joked.

Sophia huffed, "You know what I mean."

"We have to eat, it's the circle of life. Where do you think the meat from the store comes from? Trees?" He asked and reloaded his crossbow.

"No. But it's so cute. Cows are ugly. I can eat cows." Sophia said.

Daryl laughed quietly, "Cute…" He mumbled under his breath.

Xxx

Daryl picked up another log and threw it into the fire. It was already dark out and now they were just trying to kill time.

It was a cool, windy night. Sophia scooted a little closer to the fire, trying to get as warm as possible, her fingers and toes were already numb.

"What's your favorite memory?" Sophia suddenly asked. They had been doing this for weeks, constantly asking each other random questions to get to know each other. Trying to make up for lost time.

Daryl though for a few minutes, "Don't really have many of those… I guess when I went to the movies for the first time." He said.

Daryl smiled slightly at the memory, "After Merle left for the army, I had been living alone with my dad. My old man wasn't doing so well at the time. One day I was at school, my dad hit me pretty badly the day before. Suddenly Merle walked into my school, still wearing his combat uniform. He pulled me into a bear hug then walked me to his truck. We spent the whole day together, eating ice cream and of course, went to the movies. I had never seen Merle like that, so… big brother-like. He only acts like that around you." Daryl said and looked at Sophia.

Sophia smiled, "that sounds nice."

"Yeah… too bad it only lasted for a day. Turned out he had to go back to Iraq the next day. He only got a few days off and decided to travel all the way back to Georgia to spend a day with me." Daryl said, staring at the fire. He had always had two brothers as long as he could remember, the Merle using drugs and the sober Merle. He had been seeing more of sober Merle since Sophia came into their lives, and he was grateful for that.

Daryl noticed Sophia shiver.

"You cold?" he asked.

Sophia looked up at him. "Yeah, a little."

Daryl stood up and walked into the tent. A few minutes later he walked back outside, holding his hunting jacket. He wrapped the jacket around her shoulders.

"Thanks dad." Sophia said. They both froze.

Daryl hadn't really expected her to call him that, not yet anyway.

"You're welcome. Didn't want you to catch a cold." He said and sat back down across from her.

She shifted nervously in her chair, her hands intertwined with each other repeatedly as she fidgeted with them. "Sorry" She said in a low voice.

"About what?" Daryl said, petting Chaos who had joined them at the fire. Sophia looked up, her eyebrows knitted together and her noise scrunched up.

Daryl winked and smiled at her, indicating that it was okay. Sophia felt her body relax and she smiled back at him.

"Right, never mind."


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead or any of the characters, just my OC's.**

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews/follows/favorites, really appreciate it :) **

Rick Grimes parked his police cruiser in front of Mark's Garage. He was glad to finally get out of the car, the leather seats were making it almost unbearable to spend even two minutes inside the vehicle.

He took off his hat and ran a hand thru his sweaty hair. Closing the car, he walked towards the front door. The weathered and beaten door, splintered on the edges and scuffed on the bottom from years of use creaked slowly open. Rick stepped in and took a look around.

He could see several men working on cars. Most of them were overweight after years of sitting on the couch, watching TV and drinking beer. Their hands and clothes were covered in grease and sweat. It was a typical auto garage, smelled like motor oil and gas and pictures of semi naked women on the walls. The walls painted a dull grey color, the floor as well.

Finally, he spotted Daryl. He was working on an old, cherry red Ford Mustang, upper half of his body disappearing under the car while he was lying on a mechanics creeper.

A man in his late fifties with dirty, blonde hair and a thick beard slowly walked towards Rick, "Can I help you?" The man asked and stopped in front of Rick.

Rick took off his hat, it was even hotter inside the garage than outside. "Yeah" Rick answered, "I wanted to talk to Daryl Dixon."

The blonde man nodded, turned around and then waved his hand over his shoulder, signaling Rick to follow him.

The man stopped in front of the car Daryl was working on. "Dixon." The man said and slammed his hand on the car's hood, creating a loud sound that echoed on the walls. Daryl rolled from underneath the car, trying to wipe oil from his hands using an old, dirty cloth.

"You got a visitor." The blonde man said and then turned around, walking towards an office in the far corner of the garage. Rick gave Daryl an awkward smile. He hadn't really spent much time with the guy. Just a few awkward conversations when Daryl picked up Sophia from Rick's house. But he was interested in getting to know the man, and that's exactly why he was there.

"Hey." Rick said. Daryl gave Rick a small nod before sliding back under the car.

"Everything okay with Sophia?" Daryl asked. Rick could hear him working on the vehicle.

"Yeah, everything's fine." Rick said and rested his right hand on the gun holster on his hip.

"Then why you here?" Daryl asked.

"I was thinking. Carl and Sophia have been really close for a while. It wouldn't hurt if you and I would get to know each other as well." Rick said, absently scratching on his beard.

Daryl rolled from underneath the car again, his forehead crinkled in confusion. "Why?" He asked.

Rick chuckled slightly, "Just an idea. Look, couple of friends and I are going out for drinks next Friday, you should tag along. One them has a son Sophia's and Carl's age." Rick suggested.

"What about Sophia?" Daryl asked. Daryl couldn't believe he was even considering it.

"Lori can stay home with the kids." Rick answered.

Daryl thought about it for a moment, how bad could it be?

"Sure." He finally said.

Rick smiled, "Great. Just drop Sophia off at my place around seven." He said.

"Alright." Daryl answered and slid back under the car.

Rick put his hat back on his head and turned around, "See you on Friday." He called over his shoulder and started walking towards the door. He heard Daryl mumble a goodbye. Rick opened the door and stepped back into the sunshine, looking forward to Friday night.

Xxx

Daryl shifted awkwardly in his seat next to Rick. Across from them was Rick's partner and best friend, Shane Walsh. Sitting next to Shane was Morgan Jones. He was Rick's neighbor and has a son same age as Carl and Sophia.

Daryl took a look around. It was an old bar, the kind of place bikers usually spent their time. Daryl was surprised Shane and Rick would suggest hanging out in a place like this, but they probably didn't know what kind of bar this was until they arrived.

But the smell was horrible. Cigarettes, booze, leather and sweat. Daryl wouldn't be surprised if the other's had a headache.

The place was had gotten more and more crowded in the last hour. Luckily Morgan and Shane had arrived a little earlier than Rick and Daryl, and were able to get a table for them.

The old wooden chair Daryl was sitting on was making his tailbone hurt, he wished nothing more than to be sitting at home on his couch. Especially when Sweet Emotion by Aerosmith started playing on the radio for the third time that night.

"So," Morgan suddenly said and looked at Daryl, "How's fatherhood treating you?"

Daryl shrugged his shoulders, "Ok, I guess."

"No troubles?" Morgan asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Daryl knew his relationship with Sophia wasn't perfect. He sometimes heard her cry at night, probably about her mother. But he had to admit that things had been going much better than he expected, and he had Sophia to thank for that.

Plus, there was no way her was telling them about the whole Ed thing.

"Sophia's a smart kid. She makes it easier." Daryl answered and took a sip of his beer.

"Just be glad you don't have a son." Rick laughed.

Morgan nodded in agreement, "They sure are a handful."

"I'm not sure girls are any easier," Shane suddenly said, "especially when they hit puberty."

"Yeah," Morgan laughed, "I'm pretty sure I'd have a heart attack if Duane was a girl and started dating."

"Speaking of which," Shane said and leaned forward, looking between Rick and Daryl. Daryl looked briefly at Shane before taking a sip of his beer, "aren't Carl and Sophia getting pretty close?"

Daryl frowned, causing the other men to laugh.

"Don't worry," Rick said and patted Daryl on the shoulder, "I'll keep an eye on Carl."

Daryl only shook his head in response. He hadn't even thought about Sophia dating. Of course she wouldn't be doing that until she as like 16… 30, if he would have a say in it. But Sophia and Carl? God, that kid was going to be the death of him.

Xxx

"What do you think? Friday the 13th or The Ring?" Carl grinned and held up the two movies. Sophia stood up, taking one of the movies from Carl's hand and flipping it over so she could read the description.

"I don't know," She mumbled, "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Hell Yeah! You can't have a sleepover without watching a scary movie." Carl answered and sat down on his soft bed, the springs creaking under his weight.

"Where did you even get these?" Sophia asked. She knew he couldn't have gotten them at the video store. You had to be older to rent horror movies.

"Took them from Shane's house. He has a whole collection of horror movies." Carl said, "But I was only able to grab those two before my dad noticed." He added and pointed at the two movies.

Sophia shook her head, "I don't think this is a good idea." She had never watched a scary movie before, and she wasn't exactly excited to try.

"Come on! Are you a chicken?" Carl teased.

Sophia furrowed her eyebrows and crossed her arms over her chest, "Nu-uh!"

Carl stood up and started to act like a chicken, bending his knees, pretending his hands were wings and bobbing his head as he walked.

"Stop it!" Sophia said. Stomping her right leg down when Carl started peeping. "Fine! Well watch the stupid movie!" Carl laughed and stood up straight.

"Friday the 13th it is!" He said, taking the movie from Sophia's hand and walking towards the small TV in his bedroom. He put the movie inside the DVD player before sitting down on the bed next to Sophia.

"Maybe it's based on a true story." He said and pressed the play button, "Weren't you on a camping trip just a few days ago?"

Sophia punched him in the shoulder, "Stop it Carl. You're scaring me."

Carl laughed, "alright, alright. I'm sorry."

Xxx

Daryl mostly kept to himself that night, sometimes joining the others in a conversation about something he was interested in. He just finished his fifth glass of southern comfort and was well on his way of getting drunk.

"What do you say Daryl, you in?" Rick suddenly asked. Daryl looked up from the napkin he had been playing with for the last few minutes and turned his gaze to Rick.

"Huh?"

Rick chuckled, "Were gonna play some pool. You in?" Rick said.

"Yeah." Daryl said and stood up. He had to grab the chair for support because he was a little unsteady on his feet, but a few moments later he followed the others to the direction of the pool table. Glad to finally get out of that god awful chair.

Xxx

Carl and Sophia were looking at the TV with wide, scared eyes. Every noise outside or inside the house made them jump and cling onto each other even tighter.

"I-I think we should t-turn it off." Sophia whispered.

"I'm too sc-scared to turn it off." Carl whispered back. Sophia reached for the remote next to Carl and pressed the pause button. A few minutes later Carl finally mastered up the courage to stand up and walk to the other side of the room to turn on the light.

"I think we should do something else. Something to make us forget about the movie." Sophia suggested, the blanket still wrapped around her small body.

Carl nodded his agreement. He walked towards the white dresser in his room and opened the top drawer. He pulled out a game of scrabble.

"Scrabble?" He asked. Sophia nodded her head eagerly, wanting to do something to distract her from the movie.

Xxx

Twenty minutes later Carl groaned and rolled onto his back. "Ugh, I'm so bored!" He said.

Sophia rolled onto her back next to him and took a bite of her Kit-Kat, "Me too." She mumbled with her mouth full of chocolate.

"Maybe we should watch another movie." Sophia suggested.

"What movie?" Carl asked and rolled over so he was lying on his stomach.

"The Notebook?" Sophia asked.

Carl stuck his tongue out, "No way! I'm not watching some crying movie."

"It's not a crying movie!" Sophia said, "It's a very good movie. And very romantic."

Carl nodded his head no, still frowning. "No way."

Sophia rolled her eyes at his stubbornness and stood up. She walked towards the small movie collection Carl had in his room. Finally, she found a movie she was interested in watching.

"Marley and me!" She smiled. Carl shrugged his shoulders. At least it wasn't a cheesy movie like Titanic and My Sister's Keeper that his mom made Carl and his dad watch every Sunday. They would never admit it to anyone, but Carl and his father had both cried while watching The Fox And The Hound. They had made Lori swear that she would never tell anyone, and so far she had kept that promise.

Sophia put the movie into the DVD player, sitting down next to Carl on the bed and flashing him a smile before pressing the play button.

Xxx

An hour and a half later, Carl was fighting back tears. His aunt had given him that movie for his birthday and he never had a chance to watch it. He had no idea it would have such a sad ending. If he knew, he never would have watched it in front of Sophia.

Carl turned his gaze to Sophia, seeing that her eyes were full of unshed tears.

"Are you crying?" He teased, his voice a little more shaky than usual.

Sophia looked at him and smirked, "You are too."

Carl rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. "If I don't tell anyone I teared up, I won't tell anyone you cried." He said.

Sophia shook her head no, still smiling. "I'm a girl, it's not weird if I cry. But you're a boy."

"You can't tell!" Carl begged. He couldn't let all of his friends know he cried over some stupid dog dying in a movie.

"Alright, I won't tell." Sophia said. Carl let out a breath of relief.

"But you have to do something for me." Sophia smirked.

Carl narrowed his eyes at her, "What?"

"You have to kiss me."

Carl stuck his tongue out, "Eeeew, no way!"

Sophia giggled and sat up, "I just wanted to see what the big deal is. People are always kissing in the movies and stuff. And you mom and dad kiss all the time."

Carl pouted, "Then you promise you won't tell anyone?"

Sophia nodded her head. Carl closed his eyes and slightly leaned forward, Sophia doing the same. Their lips met halfway. The kiss just lasted for a few second and they both pulled away at the same time. Scrunching up their noses and sticking out their tongues.

"Yuck" Carl said and wiped his mouth with his sleeve, like he was trying to get rid of any bacteria's from his lips.

"I know!" Sophia agreed, "Why do people do that?" Carl shrugged his shoulders. Adults are weird.

Suddenly they heard a loud crash and someone yell from outside. They both froze and looked towards the window where the noise came from. Sophia noticed that Carl had grabbed her arm, like he was shielding her from any danger. If she wasn't so scared, she might have smiled at his protectiveness.

"What was it?" Carl asked. Sophia looked at him with wide eyes, obviously just as clueless as he was.

xxx

"Good night guys." Morgan yelled towards the others. Then he turned around and started walking towards his own house. He couldn't help but smirk, he knew the others would have massive hangovers in the morning. He was the only one that only got tipsy, not drunk.

"Bye Morgan!" Rick whisper yelled. He turned his attention to Daryl and Shane. Daryl looked like he was fighting to stay awake, his eyes constantly opening and closing, and he kept shuffling from one foot to the other. But Shane on the other hand looked like he was ready to run a marathon, his eyes wide open and a big smile on his face.

"Yew can shleep in me bed." Rick whispered.

Shane started laughing, "Wat?"

Rick realized what he said and started laughing as well. "I mean- I mean yew can shleep in me house." He said between laughs and rested his right hand on a tree next to him, so he wouldn't fall over. Daryl laughed as well, nearly dropping the beer can that was in his hand.

Rick turned around and started walking towards his house. "Common." He whispered and waved his hand over his shoulder. Shane and Daryl followed him, being careful not to trip over rocks and fallen branches.

Finally, they stopped in front of the front door. Rick tried to open the door a couple of times, only to discover it was locked.

"I can't opened it." He groaned.

"Yew got t'keys?" Daryl asked and took a sip of his stale beer, frowning and throwing it towards the street. The can landed next to the Grimes mailbox.

Rick looked for his keys in his pockets for a few moments, but came up empty. Suddenly he started laughing again.

"Ah forgots them in yer car." He laughed and pointed at Daryl. Daryl only smirked, but Shane started laughing so loudly that he could probably wake up the entire neighborhood.

"Wat do we do?" Shane asked and wiped a few tears from his eyes. Rick brushed past Daryl and Shane and started walking to the back yard.

"There." Rick said and pointed at the only open window in the house. Sadly, it was on the second floor.

"Who's gonna climb it?" Daryl asked. They all looked at each other, no one was volunteering. Suddenly Shane rolled up the sleeves on his button down shirt and took a few steps forward.

"I wills do it." He said. He looked at the house closely, trying to figure out how he was going to climb it. A few moments later he stepped on an old wheelbarrow. The wheelbarrow shook slightly when Shane stepped on it and Shane had to stand still for a few seconds so he wouldn't lose his balance and fall to the ground. He reached up and grabbed the downspout and slowly started to make his way up.

"Hihihi, look at me! I'm a monkey." Shane giggled. Rick covered his mouth with both of his hands, trying to keep his laughter as quiet as he could. Daryl just snorted.

All of those years as a cop were paying off, and a few minutes later Shane had made it all the way to the second floor. He slowly reached out and grabbed a hold off the windowsill and tried to climb into the house. At one point he lost his footing, causing Rick to yell out and grab Daryl's arm. But a few minutes later he made it inside the house.

xxx

"You hear that?" Carl asked. Sophia frowned and nodded.

"Someone is trying to climb up the window." Carl whispered and stood up. When Carl started walking towards his bedroom door, Sophia shot up from the bed and grabbed Carl's arm.

"Are you insane?" She hissed, "They could be criminals!"

Carl put his hands on his hips, "My mom and unborn baby sister are out there. I have to protect all of you." He said. It was obvious he was Rick's son. Carl walked to the other side of his room and picked up a baseball bat.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" She whispered. Carl nodded and slowly opened his bedroom door. He peeked into the hallway, he didn't see any criminals, they had to be somewhere else.

"I'm coming with you." Sophia whispered.

Carl turned around and glared at her, "No way! You're safe here." Sophia rolled her eyes at him. Sometimes he could be a little overprotective. She reached for a box of Legos from the ground. Carl closed the bedroom door and raised his eyebrows at her.

"You gonna throw Lego's at him?" He asked.

Sophia grinned, "Ever watched Home Alone?"

Xxx

Shane tip toed down the stairs, making sure he didn't make a sound. He slowly opened the front door to see Rick and Daryl waiting outside, shivering from the cold.

"Yes!" Rick smiled and stepped inside. Daryl walked inside the house and shut the door behind him.

Rick turned around and grinned at them, "Mi casa es su casa."

Shane walked straight into the living room and lied down on the couch. A few minutes later they could hear his loud snores.

"There is guest bedroom upstairs." Rick said and pointed at the roof.

Daryl nodded, "Okay, thanks. I just needs some water." He said and walked into the kitchen. He opened the cupboard and reached for a glass. He then turned on the sink, waiting a few moments until the water turned cold then filled the glass. He took a few quick sips, suddenly feeling a little sick. He slowly sat down on the floor, his back propped against the wall.

He planned on just sitting there for a few minutes then walk upstairs to that guest bedroom, but he ended up falling asleep on the floor, the glass still in his hand.

Rick slowly walked up the stairs, being as quiet as he could. When he finally reached the second floor, he suddenly felt searing, throbbing pain on the sole of his foot, causing him to cry out on pain and fall to the floor.

"Sons of a bitches!" He whisper yelled, holding his sore foot with both of his hands.

"Mr. Grimes?" Rick looked up and saw two figures staring at him. He narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out who they were in the dark. But before he could, the two figures ran away. Leaving Rick alone with his sore foot.

Xxx

Daryl woke up when something was burning into his eyes. He lifted his hand, trying to shield his face from the light.

"Turn it off." He mumbled, not sure if anyone was in the room with him. Hell, he didn't even remember where he was.

"You want me to turn off the sun?" He heard someone say. He slowly opened his eyes, seeing Sophia grinning at him.

"Where are we?" He said. Not only was he extremely hangover, but now his back was killing him from the weird position he slept in.

"At Carl's house." Sophia answered. She stood up and sat down in one of the chairs in the kitchen. Daryl saw Carl sitting by the table as well, eating cereal.

Daryl tried to sit up, but felt another wave of nausea hit him, so he decided to stay put for a little while. A few moments later, Shane walked into the kitchen. Saying he looked like shit was an understatement. He had black circles under his eyes, his hair was sticking out in weird places. He looked like he just came from the bathroom, and was as pale as a ghost.

"Feel as bad as I do?" Daryl asked. Shane sat down by the table next to Sophia, rubbing his face with his hands.

"Worse." He mumbled. Daryl tried to sit up a little straighter when Lori walked into the kitchen.

Lori stopped and took a good look at Daryl and Shane before smirking and walking towards the counter.

"Have a good night?" She asked and opened the freezer, pulling out some vanilla ice cream. Shane and Daryl just mumbled something in response.

"How's Rick?" Shane asked a few moments later. Lori shrugged and took out a blender, plugging it in.

"He hasn't left the bathroom all morning." She laughed. Carl and Sophia grinned at each other, remembering the Lego incident.

"I'm not surprised," Shane said, "I haven't seen him drink that much since his bachelor party."

"Yep." Lori grinned, putting a few spoons of the ice cream and some milk into the blender.

"How was sleeping on the floor?" She asked Daryl.

Daryl shrugged his shoulders, "It was alright. Although I wish I could have slept in that bed."

"Rick kept saying this was a hotel." Shane laughed. Lori laughed quietly, adding a banana and chocolate powder into the mix.

"Yeah," She sighed, "He woke me up in the middle of the night, asking me if we had some chocolate for our guest at 'The Grimes Hotel'."

Lori put the lid back on the blender. She grinned and turned around to look at Shane and Daryl.

"That's for waking me up." She said and turned on the blender.

**Thanks for reading :) !**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead or any of the walking dead characters.**

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews/follows/favorites! **

**I know this chapter is a little short, it's more of a bonus chapter. I'll post a new chapter before the end of the week. And I just wanted to say that if anyone was wondering, the whole Ed thing is not over ;)**

"You know school starts next week, right?" Sophia asked and took another bite of her sandwich.

Daryl nodded and wiped a little sauce from his top lip with the back of his hand. "Yep"

"Are you gonna buy me stuff?"

"What kind of stuff?"

"Just, you know… things."

"Nah," Daryl joked, "You're gonna use a trash bag for a book bag."

Sophia frowned, but she knew he was joking.

"What do you need?" Daryl asked and stood up. He picked up the dishes they had been using and put them in the kitchen sink. Then he turned around and leaned against the kitchen counter, his arms crossed over his chest.

Sophia shrugged, "You know, the usual. A new book bag, clothes, books, shoe-" She started, but Daryl cut her off by putting his hand up.

"You need all that stuff?" He asked.

Sophia nodded. "Yep. And I also need a new car."

"A car, huh?"

"Yes. You can't pick me up from school every day. And there is no way I'm walking or taking the bus." Sophia answered.

"What kind of car?" Daryl asked.

"A pink Mercedes Benz, please. And heels that match."

"Yeah, yeah." Daryl mumbled and walked towards the living room. He sat down on the old couch and propped his feet up on the coffee table. He picked up the remote and turned on the TV, channel surfing for a few minutes before finally finding something he was interested in watching. A few moments later Sophia sat down next to him.

"Since when is my truck not good enough?" Daryl asked, not taking his eyes off the TV.

"It's old and smells like dirt and cigarettes. I'm a lady. A lady needs a fancy car that's pink and smells like candy and flowers." Sophia said and looked at Daryl.

Daryl smirked, "smartass".

Xxx

Daryl groaned when Sophia walked into the _fifth _clothing store. He was surprised at how much stamina females seemed to have when it came to shopping. He could spend hours tracking a deer, but he had only been following Sophia around the mall for an hour and his feet were already killing him. And the heat and the stupid music that the stores kept playing weren't helping much.

"What do you think?" Sophia asked and held up a pink shirt.

Daryl rubbed his face with his right hand, "Didn't you just try on a shirt that looked _exactly _the same?"

Sophia shook her head no, "that one was coral pink, and this one is baby pink."

"There's a difference?" Daryl asked.

Sophia looked closely at the shirt for a few seconds before putting it back in the clothing rack, "Not my style." She said before walking away.

"Oh my god." Daryl mumbled quietly.

Twenty minutes later, Sophia had finally picked out a new pair of pants and a new sweater.

"Finally" Daryl said when they finally exited the store.

Sophia smirked, "I still need a new book bag."

"Goddammit" Daryl cursed and turned around.

Xxx

"Nervous?" Daryl asked and waited for Sophia to put on her shoes. Today was finally the first day of school.

"A little." She mumbled. Once she had her shoes on, she picked up her book bag and her set of keys.

"You'll be fine." Daryl said and opened the door. He waited for Sophia to walk out before closing and locking the front door.

The drive to Carl's house was quiet. Rick had asked Daryl if he could drive Carl to school, and after everything Rick had done for Sophia, Daryl felt like it was the least he could do.

Carl was standing on the sidewalk when Daryl parked his truck in front of the house. Sophia scooted over so she was sitting next to Daryl, so there would be room for Carl.

"Hey!" Carl said and sat down in the passenger's seat.

"Hi! You excited?" Sophia asked.

Carl shrugged, "I guess. I really hope we don't have Ms. Muller again this year, she's so boring." Carl groaned and rolled his eyes. Sophia nodded her agreement.

Daryl put the truck into a stop when they arrived at the school. Carl opened the passenger's door and stepped outside. It looked like it was going to rain that day so Sophia had made sure she would bring her jacket. Sophia slid from the seat and landed on the hard concrete below.

Daryl cleared his throat, "Good luck."

"You gonna pick me up today when I'm done?" Sophia asked.

Daryl nodded, "Yeah, I'll be here around 3." He answered. Sophia flashed him a smiled before closing the door. She turned around and walked along with Carl towards the school's entrance.

"Can you imagine? In a few years, we'll be in high school." Carl said with a dreamy look on his face.

Sophia laughed. "It's still a little more than a few years."

Carl shrugged his shoulders and grinned. And together they walked inside the school to start their first day as 4th graders.

Xxx

Carl and Sophia sat down at a table in the school cafeteria. It had already been two weeks since their first day. Time sure flies.

"Hey, Sophia?" Carl whispered and nudged Sophia in the side with his elbow. Sophia looked at whoever Carl was pointing at.

"Isn't that Duane?" He asked. He was pointing at a boy sitting alone by a table. Sophia instantly felt bad for him. No one should sit alone.

"Yeah, isn't his dad Morgan? The one went out with our dads?" Sophia asked.

Carl nodded, "I think we should sit with him." Sophia nodded her agreement and picked up her tray. Together, they made their way over to the boy.

"Uhm… hey." Carl said awkwardly and shifted from one foot to another. Duane looked up, his eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"Hi." He said in a low voice.

Sophia cleared her throat, "Can we sit with you?" After a few moments, Duane nodded his head yes. Carl and Sophia sat down next to each other and the three of them started eating together in silence.

"Hey Duane?" Carl finally said. Duane looked up from his sandwich.

Carl grinned, "Ever seen Friday the 13th?"

Xxx

Daryl parked his truck in front of the school. He waited a few minutes before finally spotting Sophia walking towards the truck.

"Carl not coming too?" Daryl asked once Sophia opened the passenger's door. He usually drove the two kids to school, and picked them up. It was on his way to work so he didn't mind.

"Nope," She answered, closing the door and buckling her seatbelt, "He and this boy, Duane, went to play soccer. I wasn't interested."

Daryl nodded and started the truck.

"You got any homework?" Daryl asked after they had been driving for a few minutes in comfortable silence.

"No." Sophia answered. Daryl didn't say anything, just continued to drive with his eyes on the road. Sophia sighed, "Yes."

Daryl smirked.

They stopped at a red light and Daryl started drumming his fingers on the steering wheel.

"You know," Sophia said, causing Daryl to look at her, "I still haven't gotten that car."

"Talk to me when you're sixteen, and I've won the lottery." Daryl responded.

They never noticed the truck coming up behind them. The truck never stopped, even if the driver was fully aware that there was a red light ahead. The driver continued to drive. Until he hit the pick-up truck in front of him. He didn't stop until he was sure that the person driving the pick-up truck wouldn't get out of it alive.

And then everything went black.

**Thanks for reading :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Walking Dead or any of the Walking Dead characters. **

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! **

**R&R **

Blood.

That was the first thing Sophia smelled when she regained her consciousness. Blood, smoke and what she assumed was gas.

She slowly opened her eyes. Her heart was pounding in her throat and she was breathing short, heavy breaths. Then she remembered.

The car crash.

She looked around, but it was dark so she could hardly see. Luckily they weren't upside down, but the car was crushed, she knew there was no way she could open the doors. The windows were shattered, and there was glass all over the seats, the dashboard and the floor. It was like they were trapped… under something.

She looked to her right, seeing her father's silhouette. But he wasn't moving.

"Dad?" Sophia said, her voice cracking. When she didn't get a response, she started panicking.

"Daddy?" She cried. She moved her hand to remove her seatbelt, but suddenly felt stinging pain in her right arm, causing her to cry out. She couldn't see her hand, so she wasn't sure if it was broken or if it was something else.

Then she remembered that Daryl always kept a flashlight in the car. She reached towards the glove department with her left hand, she figured he would keep it in there. The belt kept choking her neck, but she didn't care. Finally, she managed to open the glove department. And there is was, just like she assumed.

She wrapped her fingers around the small item and clicked the 'on button.' She directed the light on her arm. It was blue and brown, and also a little swollen. She tried to move her fingers, but it hurt too much.

But there wasn't any blood. She pointed the flashlight on her father. Sophia gasped and her eyes filled with tears once again.

His eyes were closed, but he was breathing. The left side of his face was covered in blood, probably from the large gash on his forehead. She moved the light a little lower and let out a sob.

There was a big piece of glass lodged into his right shoulder. That's probably why she smelled blood. He was bleeding a lot.

She knew she had to do something. He probably had a concussion from the wound on his head. And she remembered learning in school that you had to stay awake if you had a concussion.

The put the flashlight in her mouth and removed her seatbelt with her left hand. She crawled a little closer to her dad and gently started shaking his shoulder.

"Dad?" She said in a low voice. She was being extra careful not to go anywhere near the glass.

"Wake up." Sophia sobbed. Suddenly she felt a movement. It wasn't much, but it was something.

"Dad!" She said a little higher. She smiled when Daryl slowly started opening his eyes.

"Sophia?"

Xxx

"Rick!" Shane said and ran into the fast food restaurant where his partner was ordering food for them. Rick stopped talking to the cashier and turned his gaze to Shane.

"Forget the food. There was a car crash on Main Street. Come on." Shane said and turned around, jogging towards their squad car.

Rick quickly apologized to the cashier before running after Shane.

Shane had already started the car when Rick sat down on the passenger's seat.

"Any idea what happened?" Rick asked and buckled his seatbelt. Shane started driving towards Main Street with the sirens on.

"Lambert didn't tell me all the details. Just that there was a truck that crashed into another car. The front of the car somehow ended under the truck." Shane said with a shake of his head.

"Accident?" Rick asked.

Shane nodded his head, "According to the driver of the truck. He made it out fine, but the people inside the car are still trapped." Shane said. Rick nodded and looked outside the window.

"And guess what?" Shane said, causing Rick to look at him, "The driver of the truck is Ed Peletier!"

Rick frowned, he never liked Ed. In fact, he hated him. And he also hated the fact that he never had any proof that he was abusing Carol and Sophia. Every time he asked Carol about she would change the subject or ask him to just leave it be.

So he had almost never felt as relieved as when he found out that Sophia didn't have to live with Ed after Carol died.

Shane put the police cruiser to a stop when they arrived. Rick put on his hat and got out of the car. A crowd had already gathered on the scene so Shane and Rick had to push their way towards Lambert and Leon.

"Anything?" Shane asked when they stopped in front of the other two officers.

Leon shook his head no, "We talked to a couple of firefighters, they're gonna try to pull the truck off so they can get the people in the car out of there."

Rick looked at the scene for the first time. And what he saw made his heart stop. There was a pick-up truck trapped under there. And not just any pick-up truck. The truck that he had seen every day for the past 2 and a half months. The truck that his son rode in to school every day.

Shane saw the look on Rick's face and realized what he must have been thinking. Shane grabbed his Rick's arm before he was able to run towards the wreck.

"Shane! Carl is in there." Rick cried. Shane put his hand on Rick's shoulder. As much as he wanted to go in there himself, it was a stupid move.

"Rick, he's fine!" Shane said, trying to calm down his best friend. "Going down there is just stupid. Let the fire workers do their job and we do ours. Ok?"

Rick looked down on the ground and nodded. Shane gave Rick's shoulder a squeeze, "He's fine. And I'm sure Daryl and Sophia are too."

Shane loved Carl like he was his own, he was even his god father. And he had known Sophia since she was just a toddler, Carol and Lori had always been close. And Shane had to admit that he liked the redneck. He couldn't imagine how it would be like for Sophia if she would lose both of her parents in three months.

Xxx

"Daddy." Sophia said and let out a breath of relief when Daryl talked.

"What happened? You ok?" Daryl asked, panic in his voice.

Sophia looked down to her hand, "My hand hurts, I think it's broken." Daryl was going to sit up straighter to look at her hand, but Sophia stopped him before he could.

"You're hurt." She said and pointed at his shoulder.

Daryl looked down at the large wound. "Shit." He just hoped it wasn't too deep.

"What are we gonna do?" Sophia cried.

Daryl wished he had an answer. If there was one thing he hated, it was that he didn't know what to do.

He was battling consciousness. He had a severe headache and his shoulder hurt something awful. He felt blood all over his right side, he knew he could die from blood loss.

It was unfair. He had only known his daughter for a couple of months and now he could die. This had been without doubt the happiest time of his life. He had no idea that one person could affect his life that much.

Daryl felt his eyelids drop, but Sophia gently shook him before he could pass out.

"You have to stay awake." She said.

He had to say his last goodbyes, just in case.

"Sophia," He said, making Sophia look at him in the eyes instead of his wound. "You know I love you, right?"

Sophia started sobbing again. She knew what this was, he was saying his goodbyes. Her mother had said something similar to her before she died.

"I know." She said and grabbed his hand, being careful that she would move it. "I love you too."

Xxx

Rick was on the edge of breaking down. How could he just stand here and wait? For all he knew, his son could be dead. And he didn't know how Lori would react, she was already 37 weeks pregnant with their second child.

No. He couldn't think like that. He was alive. They were all alive.

"Rick!" He looked to his right when he heard someone call his name. Morgan was standing in the crowd with his hand on Duane's shoulder. And standing next to Duane was Carl.

"Oh my god." He breathed before running towards his son. He went down on his knees in front of him and pulled him into his arms.

"Dad!" Carl grunted and tried to break free from his father's hug. "What's wrong with you?"

Rick let out a shaky laugh, he had never been so relieved to see his boy. A few moments later Rick pulled away and looked at Carl in the eyes.

"Why didn't you go with Daryl?" He asked.

"Duane and I went to play soccer. I thought it wouldn't be a big deal." Carl shrugged. Rick nodded and stood back up.

"What happened?" Carl asked and gestured towards the wreck. Rick looked at Morgan. He knew by the look on his face that he had realized the same thing Rick had.

"Wait…" Carl said, his eyes still on the wreck. Rick took a deep breath and looked down.

"Is it…?" Carl didn't need to finish his sentence, Rick already knew what he meant. Rick pulled Carl into another hug, this time Carl wrapped his hands around Rick's neck.

"Are they alive?" Carl mumbled into his father's shoulder.

Rick sighed, he knew he had to be honest. "I don't know. I sure hope so."

Xxx

Daryl gave her a small smile. "I just have to say a few things, just in case."

Sophia nodded in understanding.

"First of all, you're best thing I ever did. I just knew you existed a couple of months ago, and it has been without doubt the happiest time of my life." He took a deep breath before continuing.

"And I'm really proud that I can call you my daughter." He smiled. Sophia gave him a weak smile in return.

"Promise me that you'll take care of Merle for me, he can't do this on his own." He added.

She couldn't hold it in any longer, she started crying into his side. Her face was probably covered in blood, but she didn't care. Daryl felt the sting of tears in his eyes as he looked at his daughter.

This just wasn't fair.

Xxx

Rick looked at one of the ambulances. He could see Ed sitting on the outside one of them, a cigarette in his hand. Bastard had only had a small scratch on his forehead. And he didn't even look ashamed. Rick could have sworn he saw Ed smile for a second when he glanced at the wreckage.

Rick narrowed his eyes at him, something wasn't right. He looked at the wreckage. They were starting to remove the truck, it wouldn't be long before they got out.

Rick walked towards the ambulances, stopping when he was in front of Ed. Ed looked at him thru the corner of his eyes.

"Whatcha want?" He asked and took another drag of his cigarette. Rick put his hands on his hips. How could he be so calm after what he just did?

"I need to ask you a few questions." He said.

"I've already given a statement." Ed mumbled without looking at Rick.

"**I **need to ask you a few questions." Rick repeated firmly. Ed finally looked at him and shrugged his shoulders.

"So this was an accident?" Rick asked. Ed nodded.

"Can you explain how it happened? I just find it hard to believe that you didn't see the car or the red light." Rick said. His patient was running low.

"I said it was an accident. Don't need to explain how it happened. Accidents happen all the time." Ed said. Rick bit his tongue. He couldn't do what he wanted to do, and that was to smash his head in. So he decided to walk away, before he did something he would seriously regret later.

Xxx

Sophia had stopped crying when she realized they were starting to remove the truck. Daryl kept drifting in and out of consciousness. It was getting harder and more painful for him to breath.

Sophia was resting her head on Daryl's knee. She had tried to open the door, but she couldn't. They would probably need some kind of cutters to get it open.

Every time the pickup truck moved when they were moving the other truck, Daryl felt stinging pain in his shoulder. He always bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself from crying out, he couldn't let her know he was in so much pain.

Sophia's eyes widened when she heard someone call her name. She recognized that voice.

"Sophia? Daryl?"

It was Rick.

Sophia sat up and tried to see Rick, the other truck was half way off, so it was a lot more light in the pickup truck.

"Mr. Grimes?" She called out in a low voice. Her throat was so dry that she couldn't yell louder.

But it didn't matter, because Rick had heard her.

"Sophia? Oh thank god! Hold on, were gonna get you out of there." Rick yelled back. Sophia smiled, they would be fine.

But her smile wavered when she looked at her dad. He wasn't awake anymore.

"Dad!" She gasped and moved closer to Daryl. She started shaking him again, but this time he didn't wake up.

"Daddy?" She cried. She heard a machine turn on behind her. She glanced over her shoulder, seeing that a fireman was starting to cut open the door.

"You have to wake up," She pleaded, "They're opening the door, please wake up." A few minutes later, the machine stopped and she heard the door open.

Rick pushed his way in front of the fireman and crawled inside the vehicle. When he saw Sophia, he let out a breath of relief.

"Sophia, come on. We have to get you out of here." Rick said and grabbed Sophia by the waist. She started to fight back, but Rick had a firm grip on her.

"No! Daddy!" Sophia cried. Rick pulled her out of the vehicle, and wrapped his other arm around her.

"No!" Sophia yelled and started to scratch his arm with her uninjured hand.

"You have to calm down. Everything's gonna be okay." Rick said in a calm voice. Sophia fought back, but it was no use.

"Daddy." She sobbed.

**Hehe another cliffhanger. Thanks for reading! **


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Walking Dead or any of the Walking Dead characters.**

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! **

**It's 3:30 here in Norway and I'm exhausted, so there will probably be some spelling errors, sorry. And i know the chapters are really short, instead I'm trying to update more often. R&R :)**

"_34 year old male…"_

"_concussion-"_

"_-vere_ _blood loss-"_

"_-urgery, now!"_

Daryl watched the fluorescent lights go by as the doctors hurried him to the operation room.

_One, two, three… _

He just tried to focus on staying awake. He had to stay awake.

He felt like he was drowning. He heard the people talk around him but just bits and pieces. Their voices were muffled like they were trying to talk in water.

_Four, five, six…_

His eyelids felt heavy. He just tried to focus on counting the lights as they went by. He tried to focus on anything but the pain.

_Seven, eight, nine…_

But It became too much. And a few moments later, everything went dark again.

_Xxx_

Rick stood up got himself the second cup of coffee that night. He felt like he had been waiting for hours, but it was really just twenty minutes. Sophia had disappeared into one of the exam rooms. The paramedic said her arm was broken, but other than that she was fine.

But Daryl hadn't been so lucky.

"_He's got a pulse! But it's weak." The paramedic shouted. _

_Rick let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. At least he was still alive._

_Rick stepped out of the way so the paramedics could get Daryl out of the wreck and onto a gurney. _

"Rick Grimes?"

Rick looked up when he heard someone call his name. It was a man probably in his early forties, he was in a doctor's coat. He had a thick, brown hair and bags under his eyes, he probably hadn't slept for hours. Rick walked towards the man.

"I'm Dr. Chris Davis." The man said and extended his hand. Rick gave it a firm shake.

"How is she?" Rick asked and pulled his hand away.

"She's fine. She'll be in pain tonight but I'll send you home with some painkillers." The Doctor answered.

Rick nodded, "alright, thank you."

"You can see her now if you want too." The Doctor said.

"Yeah. I can keep her company until her uncle arrives." Rick said and followed the Doctor into an exam room.

Sophia was sitting on a medical bed with her head down. She had a white cast on her arm, all the way from her wrist to her elbow.

"I'll leave you two alone." The Doctor said before walking back out of the room.

Rick walked up to Sophia and put his hand on her shoulder.

"You alright?" He asked in a gentle voice.

Sophia shook her head no. She bit her lip to keep herself from crying, she had promised herself that she wouldn't cry again.

Rick sat down on the bed next to her, "That's one badass cast you got there," Rick joked, trying to lighten the mood, "think Carl will be jealous?" He didn't get Sophia to laugh like he wanted too, but she did crack a small smile, which was good enough for him.

Rick smiled and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer. Sophia rested her head on his chest.

"I'm sure he'll be fine." He said. He felt Sophia nod. They sat together in comfortable silence for a few minutes until Carl came suddenly running into the room.

Carl ran up to Sophia and pulled her into a bone crushing hug. Lori and Shane then came walking into the room. Rick raised his eyebrows at them.

"Sorry. But he refused to go to sleep unless we came to the hospital first, he was ready to throw a fit." Lori said and gave Rick a small kiss on the mouth.

"That's fine. I think Sophia was getting bored hanging out with me, anyway." Rick smiled.

They watched as Carl rambled on about something to Sophia, probably trying to get her mind off the current situation.

"How is he?" Shane asked in a low voice so the kids wouldn't hear.

"He's still in surgery. His condition is serious." Rick answered. Lori slipped her small hand into Rick's and looked at Sophia with sad eyes.

"Uhm, Shane?" Rick said after a few minutes of silence between the adults.

"Yeah?"

"Can I talk to you for a few minutes?" Rick asked and gestured to the door with his head. Shane nodded and then followed Rick out of the room.

Rick closed the door and turned to look at his friend, "Something's not right."

"What do you mean?" Shane asked, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Rick sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, "I mean with this whole Ed thing. I don't know about you, but I don't believe in coincidences."

"I know something not right, but I don't think we should jump into conclu-"Shane started, but Rick cut him off.

"Did you see the look on Sophia's face when she saw that Ed was sitting in one of the ambulances?" Rick asked. Rick remembered how Sophia let out a whimper and tightened her grip around him when she noticed Ed.

"That was not a look of surprise, it was a look of fear." Rick said, "And I doubt that when Ed found out about that his wife had cheated on him and that Daryl was Sophia's father, that he gave Daryl a friendly smile and a pat on the shoulder telling him good luck."

Shane looked down at his shoes. He knew everything Rick was saying was right, he just refused to believe it.

"So you think he did it on purpose?" Shane asked.

"I know you do too." Rick stated.

Shane sighed and rubbed his face with his hands, god he was tired. "It's nothing we can do about it tonight. Let's just find out if Daryl survives or not, then we can start to think about something like that." Shane said. Rick smiled, glad his friend agreed with him.

Xxx

Lori had taken Carl home about an hour ago. He had refused to leave, but when he was starting to nod off Shane carried him to the car and they drove home. They tried to get Sophia to come with them, but she was as stubborn as a mule, saying she wouldn't leave the hospital until she knew how Daryl was doing.

Merle had joined them about 45 minutes ago. He had been at a bar with a couple of buddies when he got the call. He'd never been so afraid his entire life.

So that left Rick, Merle and Sophia. They were sitting in comfortable silence. Rick was reading an old magazine, although his mind was on something else than on the article 'How to get younger looking skin.'

Merle was looking at the small TV in the corner of the waiting room, watching the news.

Sophia was sitting between the two men. Her gaze was on the wide double doors, where she expected the doctor to appear any moment.

Rick slammed the magazine on the small coffee table in front of them, creating a slapping sound when it collided with the other magazines. He stood up, stretching his sore muscles.

"I'm getting coffee, you guys want anything?" Rick asked. Sophia shook her head no.

"Just coffee." Merle said without taking his eyes off the TV set. Rick nodded and headed to the direction of the coffee machine, this would be his fifth cup of coffee that night, but he was still exhausted.

He took out two plastic cups, waiting patiently for a few moments while the machine filled the cups with the black, hot liquid.

Rick handed the cup to Merle before sitting back down in his seat. He was still wearing his cop uniform, the gun holster sticking into his thigh in an uncomfortable way when he sat down on the hard plastic chair.

After what seemed like years, two doctors finally walked thru those double doors and headed towards the trio.

Rick stood up, giving each doctor a firm handshake, Merle doing the same. Sophia stood between them, her good hand absently scratching on the skin above her elbow, where the cast ended.

"I'm Doctor Milton Mamet." One of them said.

"Look, I don't care if you're the queen, just tell me if my brother is alive or not." Merle huffed. Rick bit his lip to keep himself from laughing. Usually he would have thought that Merle's behavior was rude, but now he actually thought it was kind of funny. He guessed the exhaustion was really getting to him.

"Yes… uhm," Doctor Mamet said, pushing his glasses further up his nose. Rick didn't like his hesitation.

"The surgery went fine. He did lose a lot of blood, but we gave him transfusions. We successfully removed the glass. He will have nerve damage, but he will make full recovery in about 6-9 weeks. He broke a couple of ribs, but they didn't puncture the lungs so he should be fine." Doctor Mamet looked at Sophia for a few moments before returning his gaze to the two adults. "But during the accident he must have hit his head pretty hard, causing brain swelling."

Rick felt Sophia stiffen at the words 'brain swelling'.

"And what does that mean?" Merle asked.

"He's in a coma. Hopefully he will wake up in a few weeks."

Merle let out a sigh, rubbing his eyes with both of his hands. Rick put his hand on Sophia's shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze. He hoped it would calm her down.

"But he's gonna live?" Rick asked, hope in his voice.

"I can't guarantee anything. But the odds are in his favor." Doctor Mamet said.

"Wait," Merle said, letting his hands drop to his sides, "if he has brain injury, does that mean he's gonna turn into some kind of retard?"

The two doctors smiled, "No, we highly doubt that." The other one said, the one they hadn't been introduced to.

"Good" Merle mumbled and crossed his arms over his chest.

"If you got any other questions, don't hesitate to ask." Doctor Mamet said.

"Can we go see him?" Sophia asked in a low voice.

"I think it's best if we see him in the morning." Merle said. Sophia hesitated for a moment before nodding. Rick could see how exhausted she was, it had been a long day.

"Thank you." Rick said to the two doctors before they walked away.

"You want me to take her?" Rick asked Merle, his gaze fixed on Sophia.

"Nah, I can handle it. It's best for her to sleep in her own bed tonight." Merle said. Rick nodded. He was glad that Daryl would most likely be fine. He might not have known him for long, but he really liked the guy.

Rick looked down at Sophia. Her eyelids kept dropping and she was yawning every few minutes. Poor thing was exhausted, she could barely stand.

Merle must have noticed that too, because he picked her up and carried her towards his truck. Rick was only a few steps behind them.

Rick handed Merle the painkillers for Sophia that the doctor had given him before bidding goodbye and walking towards his own car.

Merle carefully laid Sophia down in the passenger's seat of his truck. He buckled her seatbelt before closing the door and walking to the other side of the car.

Xxx

Merle parked his truck in front of his brother's house. He turned off the engine and got out of the car.

After getting Sophia, he struggled with fitting the key into the keyhole for a few moments before finally getting the door open.

Chaos greeted them with his tail wagging, he had been home alone for way too long. Merle made a mental note to give the dog some food before going to sleep.

He walked to Sophia's bedroom and laid her down on her bed. He took off her shoes and sweater before pulling the covers over her.

After turning off the lights in Sophia's bedroom, Merle walked into the kitchen and gave the dog some food and a bowl of water. He walked towards the couch, pulling off his boots before lying down on the sofa cushions. He thought he would fall asleep in seconds, but his mind kept going back to his brother.

Merle knew that Ed had done this on purpose. Daryl had told him about what Ed had done to Sophia, that he threatened her and hit her. Merle wanted nothing more than to smash Ed's teeth in when Daryl told him. But his brother had wanted to do this alone.

Now Merle had the opportunity to take matters in his own hands. And that was exactly what he was going to do.

**I'm still not sure what to do with Ed, so if you guys have any suggestions, feel free to PM me or review :)**

**Thanks for reading!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Walking Dead or any of the Walking Dead characters.**

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Hope you enjoy this chapter, R&R :)**

Angry.

That's was how Sophia felt when she stared at her father's still form on the hospital bed.

Sad, hurt, scared… but mostly angry.

His head and shoulder were wrapped in bandages. And he had some kind of tube thing to help him breathe… a ventilator.

_Sophia sat in the hospital room, clutching her doll to her chest. The only sound she could hear was the beep of a heart monitor. She watched her mother lie in the hospital bed with her eyes closed. _

Three months. That's how long ago she had watched her mother lie in a hospital bed. And now she was doing the same thing, watching her father fight for his life.

She was angry at the world, at God. Her mother had been nothing but kind to others. She went to church every Sunday, sometimes she even volunteered at a homeless shelter. She had never done anything to physically or emotionally hurt others. But that didn't stop Ed from hitting her. It didn't stop God from giving her cancer.

And her dad? She hadn't known him for long, but she did know that he didn't deserve this either.

And she didn't deserve this either. Too see both of her parents like that. Maybe she was being selfish? It wasn't her that was fighting for her life. But that didn't stop her from being angry. No, she didn't deserve this. No kids did.

Other kids, kids like Carl, they didn't have to worry about things like that. Especially not twice in _three months. _

The doctor said that he would most likely life, that the odds were in his favor. But that didn't change how she felt. He shouldn't be here. He should be sitting at home or at work. Not be lying in a goddamn hospital bed. He shouldn't need a tube to help him breath, or have a heart monitor attached to him.

Who should she be mad at? Her first thought was God, but now she wasn't so sure. Ed was the one that drove that truck. He was the one that repeatedly hit her mom. She should be mad at him. She was mad at him. He was the one that made all the bad things in her life happen.

"Sophia?"

Sophia looked up. Merle was looking at her with concern in his eyes. "You ok?"

Of course she wasn't ok.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She lied. Sophia had been standing in the doorway the whole time, so she decided to sit down next to her uncle. The room only had two chairs, Sophia sat down on the one closer to Daryl.

It was only eight in the morning. Sophia had woken up in pain at five, and she couldn't go to sleep after that. She had dragged Merle to the hospital to visit Daryl, and he had been far from happy, saying that it was unnatural to get out of bed before noon.

Merle had talked to her school, she didn't have to go back there for the rest of the week. But it was already Thursday, so she wouldn't miss out of much anyway.

Merle looked at his niece's grim expression. He was worried about her. She hardly ate, slept or talked. He just hoped she would go back to her normal self once Daryl woke up.

Xxx

Rick tapped his fingers on the desk, his eyes on the computer screen in front of him, although his mind was somewhere else.

It had been three days since the accident. He had talked to Merle once, asked him how Sophia was doing. He also called the hospital, they told him that Daryl was the same. No change.

But he couldn't take his mind off Ed. Had he done it on purpose? You had to be pretty sick minded if you wanted to kill a child.

Rick sighed and rubbed his thick beard. If only he had a proof. That was always what he was missing. A goddamn proof.

He couldn't arrest Ed because he had a feeling. He didn't even know if Ed had any intention of hurting Daryl or Sophia.

He just hoped that if he did, that he wouldn't do anything else to hurt Sophia. But she was with Merle most of the time, she was as safe as she could get.

Xxx

"And don't forget the math test next week." Ms. Muller said to the class and handed every one of the students today's homework.

It was Monday, and Sophia had finally gone to school. Carl was worried about her. His friend hadn't been the same. When she arrived at school she gave him a small smile, but it didn't reach her eyes. She had been avoiding him most of the day. When he asked her if she was going to join him and Duane at lunch, she said she would rather spend time at the library to study for tomorrow's history test.

It wasn't just him she was avoiding. When her friend, Eliza, had tried to talk to her, Sophia just brushed her off.

When the bell rang, signaling that the school day was over, Sophia was quick to stand up and head towards the school's exit. Carl gathered up his books and ran after his friend.

"Sophia!" He called once they were outside, but Sophia didn't respond, she just kept walking with her head down.

Carl kept running, and once he was next to her, he touched her shoulder, causing Sophia to stop and turn around. She didn't say anything, she was waiting for him to talk.

"Are you ok?" Carl asked.

"I'm fine." Sophia mumbled and turned back around, walking towards the parking lot where the parents usually picked up their kids. Merle was going to pick her up today, but she didn't see his truck. He was late... great.

"Sophia" Carl yelled again. He walked in front of her and stopped, blocking her path.

"What?" Sophia asked, getting annoyed.

"Are you mad at me?" Carl asked.

Sophia gritted her teeth. It wasn't him she was mad at, but she was still mad. "No"

"Then why are you acting like this?" Carl asked. Sophia didn't answer, instead she brushed past him.

"I didn't do anything to deserve you treating me like this." Carl yelled after her.

Sophia froze. Of course he didn't do anything. Just like she didn't do anything to deserve losing her mother to cancer, or to have her dad lying in a hospital.

Sophia slowly turned around, her mouth in a tight line and her eyes narrowed.

"You don't get it, do you?" She spat.

Carl tilted his head to the side, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "Get what?"

Sophia took a few steps closer to Carl, so they were almost nose to nose.

"Your mom and dad are fine. But my mom died and my dad is in a hospital. It's unfair that all bad things happen to me, but not to anyone else!" She yelled, her voice cracking, before walking away.

Carl didn't say anything or move. He was frozen in shock.

Xxx

Sophia sat on the chair next to her father's bed. Merle had dropped her off at the hospital, he had a meeting with some man and Sophia would rather be here than at home.

Did she feel guilty about yelling at Carl? No. In fact, it made her feel a little better, but just for a few minutes. But she still meant every word she said.

A nurse walked into the room, but Sophia didn't pay her any attention. She was playing with the loose fabric on the chair she was sitting on while the nurse made sure everything was alright with Daryl.

"Is he your dad?" The nurse suddenly asked. Sophia looked up. The nurse couldn't be more than twenty five. She had short brown hair and brown green eyes.

Sophia just nodded. She didn't trust her voice, she was still pretty angry.

The nurse gave her a warm smile. "What's your name?" She asked.

"Sophia." She said in a low voice.

"I'm Maggie," The nurse said, "My dad is one of the doctors that performed the surgery on your dad."

Sophia nodded. Was she supposed to say thanks? It was their job, but her mom had taught her to always say thank you.

"Thanks." Sophia said, not taking her eyes off the fabric she was playing with.

"No problem." Maggie said. Sophia could tell she was smiling by the sound of her voice.

"How old are you?" Maggie asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Nine, but I'll be ten in a few weeks." Sophia answered, her mood was a little better than it had been the last few days.

"Touch age," Maggie said while changing her father's IV bag, "I just remembered fighting with my siblings all the time. You got any siblings?" She added.

Sophia shook her head no, "No, my uh… step dad didn't want any more kids."

"So your parents are divorced? Sorry if I'm being rude, I'm just curious." Maggie smiled.

"Something like that." Sophia mumbled. She started chewing on her thumbnail, a habit she had picked up from her father.

"Well Sophia," Maggie said and fixed her hair, "I have to check on another patient, but it was nice meeting you." Maggie said and winked at her before walking out of the room.

Sophia couldn't help but smile. Suddenly she wished she had an older sister, someone nice like Maggie.

Xxx

Sophia was sitting by a tree in front of the school. It had been a few days since her outburst with Carl and he still hadn't tried to talk to her. And she was glad, she really wanted to be alone.

She was drawing some pictures in her notebook when she noticed someone walking up to her. Sophia looked up to see Penny Blake smirking at her. Sophia narrowed her eyes at her.

"What do you want?" Sophia asked. She usually wasn't so rude, her mom had always taught her to be polite, no matter how rude others are to you. Treat others how you want to be treated, she said. But Sophia was really angry, and Penny was really annoying.

"I heard you and your boyfriend had a fight." Penny said. Sophia just decided to ignore her.

"I also heard your old dad tried to kill you and your new dad." She added. Sophia gritted her teeth and tightened her grip on her pencil. Violence never solves anything, she reminded herself.

"Is your family stupid or something?" Penny asked with her hands on her hips.

That was it. Sophia lost it. No one talked like that about her family.

Xxx

Merle was at his friend's workshop, talking to a few of his buddies when he got a call from Sophia's school.

"Merle Dixon?" A man's voice said.

"Yeah, this is him." Merle answered and took a drag of his cigarette.

"My name is Sam Johnson, I'm the principal of St. Mary's elementary school. We have a small problem, it's about your niece." The man sighed.

Xxx

Merle parked his beat up truck in front of Sophia's school. Saying he was surprised was an understatement. He had no idea Sophia was the type to have a physical fight, but she was a Dixon after all.

Merle walked into the teacher's office. Sophia was sitting on a chair, she looked unharmed. But next to her was another girl, she had a scratch mark on her arm, a busted lip and it looked like someone had pulled on her hair. Sophia had really done a number on her.

"This is unacceptable." A tall man said as he walked out of the principal's office.

"Mr. Blake…" Another man, probably the principal, said and walked out of the office as well, "You have to understand, Penny provoked her. And Sophia has been going thru a lot emotionally." The man added and sighed.

"Penny would never do that." The tall man said and crossed his arms over his chest, "I want to talk to Sophia's parents."

"That's not an option right now." The principal said and ran a hand thru his thin hair.

"Why not?" The tall man asked.

Merle made sure that Sophia was out of earshot before saying, "Because her mother passed away and her father's in a hospital."

The two men looked at Merle, who was leaning against a doorway with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Mr. Dixon." The principal said and smiled a tired smile.

The tall man's hard expression softened at Merle's words. "I'm sorry." He said. Merle gave him a nod before switching his gaze to the principal.

"Let's get this over with, I have some place to be." Merle said and walked towards the office.

Xxx

"Didn't know you had it in you." Merle said while they drove home.

"I was mad." Sophia mumbled, she was looking at her lap.

"I get it, happens to me sometimes." Merle said. Sophia had expected him to be mad, but when she looked at him, he winked at her. Sophia felt like she had lost five pounds, she was so relieved.

She knew what she did was wrong. But when Penny said those things, she saw red.

"My hand hurts." She said and inspected her hand she had used to punch Penny.

"The one that's broken?" Merle asked, concern in his voice.

Sophia shook her head no, "The one I used to punch her."

Merle started laughing so loudly that Sophia couldn't help but flinch, she had not expected that.

"I tell you what," Merle said once he had calmed down, "Once your broken arm is healed, I'll teach you a few things, that way it maybe won't hurt so bad next time."

Sophia smiled. Maybe she didn't need an older sister, she had Merle. But an older sister taught you how to kiss a boy and to do your make up. Sophia couldn't help but laugh picturing Merle teaching her that.

"What's so funny?" Merle asked. He was glad to see her finally laugh.

"Nothing." Sophia laughed, she figured it was best if she didn't tell him what she just thought of.

**Thanks for reading! **


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Walking Dead or any of the Walking Dead characters. **

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter, R&R :)**

Sophia waited for the bus to arrive under the big tree in front of her school. The same tree she had been standing by when she punched Penny.

Sophia couldn't help but smirk. Probably everyone in her class had wanted to punch Penny at one point. She was a liar and a control freak. If something didn't go like she wanted it too, she would get angry and take it out on others. Merle hadn't been mad when he found out and Sophia was shocked, but glad.

A few days ago, the day after the whole Penny incident, Merle had gotten a new job at a construction site. And now Sophia had to take the bus home every day. But today she was going to make an exception. She hadn't visited her dad in almost two days, and a little detour wasn't going to hurt. As long as Merle wouldn't find out, of course.

She noticed Carl standing by the bus stop. They still hadn't talked, and she was glad. She really just wanted to be left alone.

Finally, the bus arrived. Sophia picked up her book bag and walked towards the bus, waiting patiently in line while the other kids walked into the vehicle, until it was finally her turn to enter it.

She sat down next to a chubby boy with glasses. She had it all figured out. She would get off the bus in front of the police station, and walk for a few minutes until she would finally reach the hospital. But getting home was a little trickier, she hadn't really thought about that. But that was a future problem.

Sophia found herself getting annoyed by the other kids. They were so loud, and they didn't seem to be able to sit still. At least the chubby boy wasn't talking to her.

Finally, fifteen minutes later, the bus stopped in front of the police station. Sophia stood up and grabbed her backpack before hurrying out of the bus. When she watched the bus drive away she felt a chill run down her spine. She felt so alone.

She knew which way the hospital was, so she started walking in that direction. It looked like it was going to rain. The clouds in the sky were gray and it was a little windy. It had been getting a lot colder the last few days.

But she knew that it would be, it was always cold on her birthday. Sophia frowned, her birthday was only in three days. She really hoped her dad would wake up before that. He had already missed nine of her birthdays, she didn't want him to miss another one.

She smiled a small smile when she noticed the hospital, it would only be a few minutes before she reached it. Taking the bus and finding the hospital by herself was a small victory in her book. She had never done anything like this before.

She saw doctors and nurses standing in front of the hospital. Most of them were talking, probably on a break.

The hospital smelled a little bit like her school. If her school was cleaned every day with strong soaps and sick people walked around in it all the time.

She knew exactly where Daryl's room was, and a few minutes after entering the hospital, she sat down on the chair next to her father's bed. She felt so much better when she could finally put down her book bag, it was so heavy.

Sophia took a good look at her father. He hadn't changed much, although his beard was a little thicker. But not much.

He still had that stupid ventilator and that stupid heart monitor attached to him.

Sophia sighed. This was the only place where she could really relax. When she was somewhere else she was constantly worrying about him. But as long as she was here, she didn't have to worry.

Merle would be pretty mad though. He had told her to always go straight home after school, lock the doors and windows and make sure Chaos was always near her. She didn't understand why he was being so paranoid. When she lived with her mom she had been home alone all the time.

Was it because of Ed? He hadn't really talked to her since the day he hit her and grabbed her arm. Daryl said he would take care of it, and she guessed he kept his promise. Although she did see Ed on the day of the accident, but she didn't know if he had anything to do with it. She had asked Merle about it once, he just told her that she didn't have to worry about it.

But she still had plenty of time until she would have to get back home. It was only 3:45 and Merle would be at work till 6. If everything went well, she would be home by then and he would never find out she went to the hospital in the first place.

Xxx

A half an hour had passed and Sophia had already done all of her homework. Now she was just sitting on the chair, swinging her legs while staring at all of the strange machines in the room.

She was lonely and exhausted. Sophia had barely slept since the accident. Either pain would wake her up or nightmares.

She would sometimes dream about Ed. How it would have been if she never found out Daryl was her real father and she would have to live with him. All alone. The thought alone made her shutter.

But mostly she would dream about Daryl dying in the accident. Then she would wake up drenched in cold sweat, tears streaming down her face.

Because of lack of sleep lately, Sophia sometimes started nodding off in class, but always stopped herself from falling asleep before anyone noticed.

Sophia stood up and walked towards her father's bed. This was the only time in over week when she had felt relaxed enough to actually sleep without waking up every two hours.

The bed was huge. She just made sure not to hurt him as she crawled onto the bed. She lied down on his left side, his right shoulder was still wrapped in bandages. Resting her head on his left arm, she fell into a peaceful sleep in only minutes.

Xxx

Merle parked his old truck in front of his brother's house. He didn't know how much longer he was going to be able to take care of his kid, he was exhausted after only a week.

Merle frowned when he noticed all the lights in the house were turned off. Sophia was supposed to be home by now. He quickly jogged towards the front door, using his spare key to open the front door.

"Sophia?" He called out. The only one to respond to him was Chaos, who came running from the kitchen, his tail wagging in excitement that someone was finally home.

Merle's heart started pounding faster. He quickly checked every room in the house, but Sophia wasn't there. Had that fucker taken her?

He remembered that Sophia sometimes hanged out at that cops house, maybe she was there. He grabbed his keys and cell phone, locking the door behind him before jogging back towards his truck.

While he started the car, he tried to find the cops number. He had called him the other day so Merle was quick to find it in the call history.

Rick answered on the third ring. "Hello?"

"Is Sophia at your house?" Merle asked, cutting straight to the case.

"What? No, she hasn't been there for a few days actually, why?" Rick asked, a hint of concern in his voice.

Merle's grip on the steering wheel tightened. "She's not at home. I have no idea where she is."

"Have you checked the hospital?" Rick asked in a frantic voice.

"No," Merle answered, "I'm on my way over there right now." He added and turned the car around to the direction of the hospital.

"Alright, call me when you get there." Rick said.

"Alright." Merle mumbled before hanging up the phone. He couldn't believe he didn't think about the hospital. Of course she was there. But if she wasn't, there was really only one other option. Merle didn't want to think about that.

Typical. His brother is in a coma and he only had to do one thing. One thing! And that was to take care of his kid. And now she might have been kidnapped by some sick pervert. But if that was the case, Merle was going to make sure that that certain sick pervert would not live to see another sunrise.

Merle stopped the truck in front of the hospital, not caring if he parked in a handicap parking spot. He walked as fast as he could towards his brother's room. His palms were sweaty and his breathing frantic, he didn't know what he would do if she wasn't in there.

When he walked into the room he breathed a sigh of relief. There she was, curled up next to his brother. Fast asleep. She had wrapped her hand around Daryl's uninjured arm, like a teddy bear.

Merle rubbed his face with both hands and let out a small chuckle. He walked up to Sophia, debating if he should wake her up or not. She hadn't been sleeping well lately, but it was almost seven and they had to get back home.

He gently shook her shoulder, a few seconds later Sophia slowly opened her eyes, looking around as if she was wondering where she was. When her gaze landed on Merle, her eyes widened.

She turned her head so she could look at the clock above the bed. 6:45. she had overslept. She switched her gaze back to Merle, who was looking at her with his eyebrows raised.

"This ain't home." Merle said and put his hands on his hips.

Sophia swallowed hard. She propped herself up on her elbows, refusing to meet her uncle's gaze.

"I'm sorry." Was all she said.

Merle smiled. He was too relieved to be angry. She was safe, that was all that mattered.

"It's okay," He said, Sophia looked at him, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion and her lips slightly parted, "Just don't do it again." He added and pointed a finger at her.

Sophia was shocked. Again, she had done something she wasn't supposed to do and he wasn't mad at her. He was full of surprises.

Sophia grinned. He wasn't mad at her _and _she had a ride home. It was really a win – win situation.

Xxx

Maggie walked into Daryl Dixon's room. She had noticed his daughter sleeping next to him a few hours earlier, it had to be one of the cutest things she had seen her entire life.

She quickly changed the bandages on his head and shoulder.

"Your daughter is really sweet." She said when she finished wrapping the gauze around his head. She knew that he probably didn't hear her, but she read somewhere that talking to coma patients could help.

"I've talked to her a few times," She added and stopped to look at him for a few seconds. Sophia looked just like him.

She shook her head and started changing his IV bag. "She misses you a lot, I can te- Oh My God!"

Maggie was startled when she suddenly noticed that Daryl was looking at her. His eyes were barely open, but he was clearly awake. Maggie stood in shock for a few seconds with her hand on her chest before quickly changing into nurse mode.

Xxx

Merle and Sophia were both lying on the couch, only half awake. After they got home they had been too exhausted to cook anything, so they decided to order pizza.

Now, an hour later, Merle had his feet propped on the coffee table in front of him with the remote lying on his chest. Sophia had her feet in his lap, she had changed into pajamas and had made herself comfortable on the couch with her pillow and blanket. ¨

Merle cursed when the phone rang. He stood up and walked towards the kitchen counter where his phone lied. Sophia was half listening to him talking on the phone and half watching the TV. She could only hear half on the conversation.

"I see"

"How long ago?"

"Aha"

"Okay"

"We'll be right there." Merle said before he hung up. Merle tried to hide his grin as he walked back to Sophia. He sat down, resting his elbows on his knees and rubbing his palms together.

"Guess what?" He grinned.

"What?" Sophia said, her eyes never leaving the TV.

"Your dad woke up."

Sophia sat up, she was faster than a lightning. Merle was sure that her grin could rip her face in two.

"What? When? Is he still awake? Can we go see him? Can we?" Sophia asked as she bounced up and down on the couch. Merle couldn't help but to grin wider at her excitement.

"Of course, sweetheart. I ain't gonna keep you two separated any longer." Merle said and stood up.

Xxx

Sophia was practically dragging Merle when they finally walked into the hospital. She hadn't even bothered to change from her pj's. Over her grey sweatpants and her Justin Bieber t-shirt that was two sizes too big, she was wearing her black jacket and a pair of old, light uggs.

"Come on!" She said and tugged harder at Merle's hand. Merle chuckled and pressed the button to the elevator. Sophia waited impatiently for a few moments until the elevator door finally opened. They stepped in and pressed to button to the third floor.

It was almost like the elevator was moving in slow motion, at least that's how it felt like for Sophia.

Finally the door opened. Sophia couldn't wait any longer and she started running towards her dad's room.

Daryl was lying slightly propped up on the bed. He gave Sophia a weak smile when she appeared in the doorway.

"Daddy" Sophia sighed with a smile on her lips. She climbed into the bed, being careful not to move it too much. She wrapped her good arm around her father before pressing her face against his neck.

Daryl managed to wrap one arm around his daughter and buried his face in her soft hair. He felt the prick of tears behind his eyelids.

Daryl didn't know what he would have done if she wouldn't have made it. He had no idea that he could love someone as much as he loved her.

Merle watched the father/daughter moment with a smile on his face, glad they were both going to be just fine.

**A/N: I know the ending was a little cheesy, but I had a real hard time writing this chapter. I should mention that I have no idea how things work for coma patients, lately my best friend has been google. So if someone is reading this and realizes that what I'm writing is not making any sense, try not to laugh too much ;)**

**Thanks for reading! **


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Walking Dead or any of the Walking Dead characters. **

**A/N: I feel like I should apologize, stress from school and moving has been making it hard for me to write, this chapter is definitely not one of my favorites. I was gonna finish it last night but got distracted playing with photoshop, that ugly thing in the left corner is the result of that ;)**

**Anyway, thanks for the reviews and I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. R&R :) **

Sophia walked out of the school. It had been a long day and she was glad it was over. She noticed Carl sitting by one of the trees. Sophia couldn't help but feel bad, she had been really mean to him and he didn't do anything but to worry about her.

She hoisted her book bag further up her shoulders and walked towards her friend. Carl barely glanced at her when she sat down next to him, their legs almost brushing.

Sophia cleared her throat, "Hi."

Carl finally looked at her and gave her a small smile, "Hey."

They both looked away from each other at the same time. They watched as their fellow students headed home.

"I heard your dad woke up." Carl said after a few minutes of silence.

Sophia couldn't help but smile. When she came to the hospital last night he had only been able to be awake for a few minutes, but it was something. Maggie told her that patients that wake up from coma's need a few days to recover, and could only stay awake for a few minutes at a time.

"Yep" Sophia answered, the smile still plastered on her face. Her smile vanished when she remembered what she came here for.

"Carl?" Sophia said, causing Carl to look at her. "I'm sorry, I was being mean to you. It wasn't fair." She added.

Carl looked at her, his face expressionless. Sophia frowned, maybe he was more mad at her than she had thought. A few moments later, Carl finally smiled, causing Sophia to smile as well.

"It's okay, I'm not mad. I understand." He said. Sophia felt relieved, she was so glad she got her friend back. Carl stood up before helping Sophia to do the same. Sophia brushed the grass and dirt from her pants.

"We missed the bus." Carl said, looking at where the bus they usually took home previously had been. Sophia sighed, her uncle was at work so he couldn't pick them up.

"Should we walk?" She suggested. Carl nodded and picked up his bag from the ground.

"I heard you punched Penny." Carl said and grinned when they had been walking for a few minutes. A small laugh escaped Sophia's lips.

"Totally worth all the trouble I went through with the teachers." She said.

Xxx

Merle walked into the hospital, his clothes covered in dirt and a sweat after a hard day at work.

The doctors and nurses send him strange looks as he walked by them, Merle just glared at them in return. He walked into his brother's room, only to discover he was asleep. Merle sighed and sat down on a chair, crossing his arms over his chest.

He had about a half an hour until he had to go back to work, and he was hoping that his brother had been awake.

Finally, ten minutes later, Daryl finally stirred awake. He took a few moments to fully open his eyes and took a quick scan of the room. When his eyes landed on Merle he gave him a tired smile.

"Morning sleeping beauty." Merle laughed.

Daryl scoffed. Merle could see his brother was struggling when he tried to sit up, but he knew he didn't want his help. Daryl finally managed to sit a little straighter.

"What's up?" Daryl said in a tired voice.

Merle shrugged his shoulders, "Not much. Just wanted to check on you on my break."

Daryl raised his eyebrows at him, "Break? What, you got a job or something?" He asked.

"I had too! Takes a lot to take care of that kid of yours." Merle smiled.

Daryl instantly felt guilty, "Yeah, thanks for doing that." He said. He was about to tell him something else but noticed Merle's attention was not on him anymore, but on the nurse that just walked into the room. Daryl rolled his eyes.

"Hello" Merle said with a toothy smile.

"Hi," Maggie said. She started asking Daryl questions about how he was feeling, and when she bent down to pick up the pen she dropped, Merle couldn't help but to take a good look at her ass.

"So you're the one that has been taking care of my baby brother?" Merle asked once Maggie had picked up the pen.

"Yep" Maggie said and wrote some things down in her notebook.

"Well, how about you take care of ol' Merle for a change?" Merle asked and wiggled his eyebrows at her.

"Merle!" Daryl hissed thru gritted teeth. This was the woman that took care of him, he definitely didn't want to get on her bad side.

Maggie on the other hand, remained calm, "If i find some chloroform, will that shut you up?"

Merle chuckled, "A feisty one! I like that!" He said grinned.

Daryl groaned, it didn't look like his brother was giving up. Maggie smiled to herself and walked out of the room.

Daryl looked at his brother, "Why did you have to do that?"

Merle just shrugged, "Been a while since I've been with a girl. Didn't think you would be happy if I took one home to your bed."

Daryl frowned, yeah he definitely didn't want that.

Xxx

Fifteen minutes after Merle had left, Daryl had made himself comfortable watching the TV over his bed. He had finally been able to get rid of that stupid gauze on his head so it didn't keep falling down over his eyes.

But that didn't last for long, because Rick walked into the room with that ever present smile on his face.

"Hey! Good to see you're awake." Rick said and sat down on a chair next to the bed. Daryl turned down the volume of the TV with the remote and turned his head to look at Rick.

"Hi" He sighed. He hated how tired he was all the time, especially when all he did was sleeping.

"How are you feeling?" Rick asked.

Daryl was sick of that question, people had been asking him that all day. "I'm fine."

Rick leaned forward in his seat and nervously rubbed his palms together, he hadn't been able to get the whole Ed thing out of his head. It was all he could think about the last week.

He sighed, he had to get it off his chest. "I guess nobody has told you this yet… but Ed is the one that caused the accident."

Daryl's calm demeanor quickly changed and soon his face was contorted in consuming anger. His breathing became faster and his hand balled up into tight fist. "What?" He asked in a low, angry voice.

"He says it was an accident. But I'm not so sure, neither is Shane. The whole thing seemed a little…off." Rick said.

"A _little_ off?" Daryl asked, his voice rising. Rick stood up and closed the door. He didn't want the whole hospital to hear Daryl's soon-to-come outburst. He knew the man had a temper.

"Daryl, I'm asking you to calm down." Rick said, still standing by the door.

"Calm down? Sophia and I almost died and you want me to calm down? They believe this was some kind of accident? That's fucking bullshit!" Daryl yelled.

"We don't even know if Ed has any intention of hurting either you or Sophia." Rick said in a calm voice.

Daryl groaned and rubbed his face. "Yes we do." He said in a frustrated voice.

Rick's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "What?" He asked.

Then Daryl told Rick all about how Ed had threatened and hurt Sophia, and him beating up Ed in hopes he would leave her alone.

Rick took a few moments to progress all the information he had been given. He wanted to yell at Daryl, tell him how stupid he was for not just calling the cops and get Ed arrested. But he understood why he did it. If someone would have done something like that to Lori, Carl or the baby, he probably would have done the same thing.

He took a deep breath and let it out. At least they finally had a proof.

"How long ago did this happen?" Rick asked.

Daryl shrugged, "About two months ago, why?" Rick cursed, unless Daryl took pictures of the bruises, they couldn't prove that it happened.

"Did you take any pictures of the bruises?" He asked, hope in his voice.

Daryl shook his head no, a sorry look on his face. Rick sighed. They're only proof… gone. Unless someone witnessed it happening.

"Did Sophia mention anyone seeing it happening? Was Carl with her?"

"Not Carl, but she said something about another guy. But I don't think she knows who it is." Daryl answered.

Rick nodded, he was sure they could find that guy.

"We'll figure it out later. You just get some rest." Rick said, noticing how exhausted Daryl looked.

"Where is Ed now?" Daryl asked.

"No idea. We didn't have any reason to arrest him." Rick said, "I should remind you to press charges, your truck is…well."

Daryl narrowed his eyes, he hadn't even thought about his truck. Just another reason for him to kill that son of a bitch.

Xxx

"Ready, set, go!" Sophia yelled and threw the stick across the yard. Carl and Chaos both chased after it, but to no one's surprise, Chaos was the one that reached it first.

The two kids lied down in the grass, both exhausted after a half an hour of running around the yard.

"This is totally unfair," Carl said out of breath, "he has four legs, I only have two."

Sophia giggled, picturing her friend with four legs. The lied there for a few minutes in comfortable silence looking at the sky while Chaos walked around the backyard, trying to find something interesting.

"Are you excited about the baby?" Sophia asked, talking about his unborn sister.

Carl shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know. Sawyer from our class told me that he has a little sister and he hates her. He says she's so annoying."

Sophia smiled, "Maybe your sister will be just like me. Then she'll be awesome."

Carl frowned, "Na-ah, then I don't want a sister." He said, causing Sophia to kick him in the leg.

"Ooow" Carl laughed and tried to kick Sophia, but she knew his attack was coming and rolled away before his leg could make contact with hers.

"Alright, I'm sorry. Stop!" Sophia laughed. Carl huffed and crossed his hands over his chest, but he was smiling.

"I'll make you a deal," Sophia said and Carl looked at her, "every time your sister starts getting annoying, you can come over to my house." She said.

"And what do you want in return?" Carl asked.

Sophia grinned, "You have admit that I'm awesome."

Carl shook his head no, "Can't do that, my mom says that I'm not supposed to lie."

"Hey!" Sophia gasped and tried to kick Carl again, but this time he stood up before she could.

**Thanks for reading! **


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Walking Dead or any of the Walking Dead characters. **

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter, R&R :)**

"SpongeBob?"

"No"

"High School musical?"

"Nah"

"Bold and the Beautiful?"

"Oh god no!" Daryl said and ripped the remote from Sophia's hand.

Sophia gasped, "Hey!"

Daryl chuckled when she tried to steal the remote back, but he held it over his head so she couldn't reach it, "You don't know how to pick something to watch."

Sophia huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. They were both sitting on Daryl's hospital bed, Sophia leaning against Daryl's uninjured shoulder.

It was Friday and Sophia had taken the bus to the hospital right after school, but she made sure that Merle knew where she was going this time.

Daryl settled on an old Friends episode, "At least I won't fall asleep watching this."

A few minutes later, Sophia looked at her dad from the corner of her eyes, "You know my birthday's tomorrow, right?"

Daryl's heart ached, what kind of a parent had to be reminded of their kid's birthday?

"You gonna have a party?" He asked, trying to avoid the question.

Sophia shook her head no, "Don't want too."

"Why?" Daryl asked, "Don't you wanna invite Carl and what's his name…Dane?"

"Duane" Sophia corrected, "And no, I just don't want too."

"Well, I wish I could take you out someplace, but I can hardly even go to the bathroom so that's not an option." Daryl mumbled. He raised an eyebrow at Sophia when she started laughing.

"You think that's funny? That your old man has to stay in bed?"

"Yes," She laughed, "I knew you were old but I didn't know you were that old."

"I'm not old!" Daryl argued.

"Yes you are!" Sophia said, "You're 34. That's like… ancient." Daryl narrowed his eyes at her.

"You even got some grey hairs." She added and poked Daryl's chin, his goatee had been graying a little bit lately.

"I didn't have grey hairs until I had you. Now I worry all the time about your ass getting in trouble." Daryl said, causing Sophia to laugh.

Daryl smirked and shook his head. "If you're gonna stay here you at least have to bring some food. This hospital food tastes like garbage."

"What are you talking about?" Sophia asked. She ate all his food when she got there, comparing to the food in her school this was heaven.

"I'm talking about the fact that they put broccoli in _everything._" Daryl said, he hated broccoli before, now he wanted to throw up at the thought of it.

"Broccoli is healthy. You old people need all the vitamins you can get." Sophia teased.

"Hey!" Daryl said and pinched Sophia's shoulder, "Stop saying I'm old!"

Xxx

Sophia had left to spend time with Maggie a few minutes ago, leaving Daryl alone in the room. The guilt was eating him alive, he really wanted to make up to Sophia for not being there on her first nine birthdays.

He knew he had to buy her a present, but it wasn't like he could stand up and walk to the store. So he used his backup plan: Merle.

But he wasn't sure what to buy her. What was the one thing he had always wanted when he was her age? A smile spread across his face. He knew what he was going to get her.

Daryl looked to his right where his cellphone lied on the nightstand next to his bed. It was only a few feet away from him, but it felt like miles in his condition. Daryl tried to reach for it with his left hand, but soon found out it was impossible. Who the hell decided to put the nightstand on his right side?

Daryl groaned. He didn't want to call the nurse for help. It would just be humiliating too need help to grab your damn phone.

Daryl tried to reach for it again, his fingertips only a few inches from the small device.

"Need help?"

Daryl looked up, to see Sophia grinning at him from the doorway.

"I'm fine." He huffed. Sophia rolled her eyes and walked up to the nightstand. She picked up the phone and handed it to her dad.

"Here you go… old man." She smiled.

Daryl stuck out his tongue at her and took the phone from her hand, "What are you doing here anyway? Thought you were hanging out with Maggie?" He asked.

"Came to get my sweater, it's cold in the cafeteria." She said and walked towards the chair where her sweater was.

"See yaa" Sophia said before walking out of the room. Daryl made sure she was completely out of earshot before dialing Merle's number.

Xxx

Sophia had changed her mind. She still didn't want a birthday party, but she wanted Carl to spend the day with her. So the plan was that Merle would take Sophia and Carl to the amusement park next town over and then Sophia would eat dinner with Daryl at the hospital.

Sophia couldn't stop smiling, she was so excited. This was the first time she would actually do something special on her birthday. When she lived with Ed, she hadn't been allowed to do anything. But her mom always made sure to give her a present, they just had to be careful that Ed wouldn't find out.

She was nearly jumping up and down as she waited for Carl to arrive at her house.

"This isn't exactly how I planned on spending my Saturday," Merle mumbled from the kitchen, "taking two kids to an amusement park…" He added and shook his head.

Sophia smiled. She had Chaos ready to go, Rick was going to take care of him while they were away. He was already home alone so often, she didn't want him to spend another day inside the house.

She nearly screamed when she heard someone ring the doorbell, and was in front of the door in only seconds.

"Hi!" Sophia smiled when she opened the door and saw Carl.

Rick was standing behind him with his hand on Carl's shoulder, "Happy birthday." He said.

"Thanks" Sophia grinned and opened the door wider so they could step in. Rick walked into the kitchen to have a word with Merle, leaving Carl and Sophia alone.

Carl had one of his hands behind his back, "Uhmm… happy birthday." He said and quickly handed her the small package he had been hiding.

Sophia's smile got even wider and she quickly thanked Carl before opening the present. Carl had bought her a charm bracelet. It had small hearts, stars and all kinds of charms on it, but what Sophia liked the best was the pink 'S'.

"It's so pretty," She gasped and admired the small jewelry, she looked at Carl, who's cheeks were pink, "Thank you." She added and gave Carl a small kiss on the cheek. It was almost impossible, but Carl's cheeks became even pinker.

"You're gonna have to keep an eye on that boy of yours." Merle said to Rick in the kitchen.

Rick snorted, which earned a glare from Merle.

"I will" Rick reassured him.

Xxx

Merle regretted not bringing Chaos's leash with him. He had no idea two kids high on sugar could be so crazy. One second they wanted to ride the roller coaster, the next they wanted nothing more than a huge, rainbow lollipop. He really wished he could go back in time and not buy them that cotton candy.

"Will you slow down?" Merle grunted when they started pulling him towards the teacups.

"Come on! The line is only getting bigger." Sophia said and tugged harder on his hand.

They had to wait for a few minutes, but finally it was their turn to enter the giant teacups.

"Have fun." Merle mumbled and reached into his pocket to pull out a cigarette. Carl and Sophia exchanged grins.

"But you have to come with us." Sophia said and put on her best puppy-look face.

Merle raised his eyebrows at her, "Like hell I am."

"But it's scary." Carl said and frowned.

"Then don't go, there's no way in hell I'm riding that shit." Merle said and lid his cigarette.

Sophia took a deep breath, "It's just… it's been so long since I've been on one. My mom always went on them with me." She said and sniffed a couple of times for extra drama effect. Carl had to stifle a laugh.

"Fine," Merle mumbled and followed the two kids. Sophia had to bite her lip to keep herself from laughing. This was going to be interesting.

"Ever been on one before?" Carl asked Merle once the three of them had picked a teacup.

Merle shook his head no, "No, you?" The man working there closed the teacup so they would be safe inside it.

"Nope" Carl answered.

Sophia snickered, "Me neither."

Merle's eyes widened. Those brats had been playing him all along. But it was too late for him to get off, because the teacups started spinning and Merle held on for dear life.

Xxx

Sophia was still smiling when she walked into the hospital with a bag of McDonalds in her hand. Her uncle had been as white as a ghost when they finally got off the teacups. He refused move for almost a half an hour, convinced that he would throw up if he did.

Daryl was watching the news when she walked into his room. He smiled once he noticed her, "Hi"

"Hi" She said. Sophia crawled onto the bed, the bag of food still in her hand. Daryl pulled her closer and kissed the side of her head. "Happy birthday" He said once he pulled away.

"Thanks." Sophia grinned and showed him the bag of food.

Daryl's smile widened, "You got food? Something that doesn't have broccoli in it?"

"Yep"

Daryl took a bite of his hamburger, he was convinced that food had never tasted so good. "How was today?" He asked with his mouth full.

Sophia snorted, "It was fun. Although I doubt Merle will be trying the teacups again anytime soon."

Daryl raised an eyebrow at her. His brother had never liked rollercoasters, teacups or anything like that. But if anyone would convince him to try one, it would be Sophia. Neither of the brothers would ever admit it, but she had both of them wrapped around her finger.

Xxx

Sophia was nearly asleep when Merle finally picked her up at 11. In fact Daryl was starting to nod off too. They had spent the night watching the small TV in Daryl's room. He had given her money earlier that night and Sophia bought almost all the candy from the vending machine down the hall.

Merle stood in the doorway, "You ready?" He asked. He still seemed a little pissed off, which caused Sophia to snicker.

"Yeah," She said and slid down from the bed.

"Give us a second?" Daryl asked his brother. Merle nodded, "I'll wait downstairs." He said before walking away. Sophia put on her jacket and waited for Daryl to talk.

"I bet you were wondering if I got you a present." Daryl asked. Sophia smiled and looked at the floor.

"Like I said, I can hardly get out of bed so I couldn't buy it myself," Daryl said, "It's in the garage at home." He added.

Sophia looked up and grinned. She got up on her toes and kissed Daryl's cheek, "Thanks. Good night." She said.

Sophia was halfway out of the room when Daryl called after her, "And be nice to your uncle!"

Xxx

"I hope you're happy," Merle mumbled when they had been driving for a few minutes, "I spilled coffee all over my shirt earlier, I'm still trying to recover after those death cups you forced me to ride."

Sophia laughed and got out of the car once Merle parked in front of the house. She made a beeline towards the garage. Merle locked the car before walking into the house.

It took a few tries for her, but Sophia finally managed to get the old door opened. She searched for the light switch for a few seconds before finally finding it, it took her a few moments for her eyes get used to the bright light.

Sophia grinned when she saw her present. A pink bike stood in the middle of the garage.

She had a bike once, but it was rusty and old. Ed didn't want to spend much money on it. This bike was so much better, she couldn't wait to ride it.

**Thanks for reading!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Walking Dead or any of the Walking dead characters.**

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews, I couldn't have made it this far without them! Hope you enjow this chapter, R&R :) **

"Good news, Mr. Dixon." Dr. Mamet said as he walked into Daryl's room. Daryl looked up and furrowed his eyebrows, "huh?"

Dr. Mamet smiled, "It looks like you're getting out of here in a couple of days."

Daryl couldn't help but to smile. He was really getting sick of that place. A few days ago he was finally allowed to walk around as he pleased, but he was still getting sick of staying in the same room most of the day, not to mention the damn food.

"Alright, thank you." Daryl said and gave the doctor a nod. The doctor gave him a smile in return before walking out of the room.

Xxx

"I'm bored." Carl mumbled. Sophia looked up from the game of scrabble they had been playing for the last half an hour. It was a really lazy Sunday, they were forced to stay inside because there was a storm outside. Nothing serious, just enough so they would rather stay inside, than to go outside and get soaked. Rick and Shane had to go to work, much to Lori's dismay.

Sophia sighed, "Me too." They could hear Lori in the kitchen making lunch, she looked ready to pop any minute, and her stomach was so big that Sophia was surprised that Lori could stand.

"There's nothing to do around here." Carl said. They had already spent hours watching TV, and now they were pretty sick of it.

But luckily Lori came to their rescue, "Kids, lunch." She called from the kitchen. Carl and Sophia didn't have to be told twice, and they were up on their feet in only seconds.

"Thank you, Mrs. Grimes." Sophia said as she sat down by the table. Lori gave her a small smile before sitting down in her own chair. The two children started eating their lunch, consisting of sandwiches and scrambled eggs. Lori ate her lunch much slower than Carl and Sophia.

"Hey, mom?" Carl said and looked at his mother.

"What?"

"Can we get a dog?" Carl asked.

Lori raised her eyebrows, "No way, I'm already busy enough taking care of you, not to mention the baby that will be here any moment."

Carl frowned, "But Chaos is here all the time, and he's not hard to take care of."

"You mean the time when he peed on my carpet?" Lori asked, looking between Carl and Sophia.

"Alright" Carl mumbled.

Lori smiled and stood up. She put her plate down by the kitchen sink, but suddenly cried out in pain and grabbed her swollen belly.

Carl was quick on his feet, "Mom? Are you okay?" He asked, worry all over his face.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Probably just a contraction, it'll be over soon." She said and gave him a reassuring smile.

Sophia gasped, "You're leaking!" She said and pointed at the pool of water between Lori's legs.

"My water broke." Lori gasped.

Carl's eyes widened, "We have to get you to the hospital!" He said and grabbed his mother's hand.

"Can you drive?" Sophia asked Lori.

Lori shook her head no and looked at Carl, "Run across the street and get Jacquie, I need her to drive us." She said. Carl nodded and was out of the door in a flash.

Lori turned to look at Sophia, "You have to run upstairs for me, there's a pink bag in mine and Rick's bedroom, can you get that for me?" She asked. Sophia nodded and quickly ran up the stairs to get the bag.

Xxx

"Are you sure you don't want me to come in there with you?" Jacquie asked as she parked in front of the hospital.

"No, I'll be fine. You need to go to work." Lori reassured her and opened the car door, "Thank you." She said to her friend.

Jacquie smiled, "No problem sweetheart, just make sure that you and the baby will be fine." She said. Sophia and Carl jumped out of the car. While Sophia carried the bag, Carl led his mother to the hospital's entrance.

They stopped in front of the receptionist. She couldn't be more than 25, her hair dyed pink and she was chewing loudly on her gum. "Can I help you?" She asked and looked between Lori and the two children.

Lori looked like she was ready to explode, "Yes. I am having a baby and help would be much appreciated!" She hissed.

The girl grabbed a piece of paper and a pen and handed the two items to Lori, "You need to fill out this form." She said.

Lori grabbed the items before throwing them across the room, "Just get me the goddamn doctor!" She nearly yelled. She had tried to be calm in front of the two children and Jacquie, but now she was losing it.

Sophia put her hand in front of her mouth, she knew laughing wouldn't be appropriate.

"Alright, alright, chill." The receptionist said and looked at Lori like she was crazy. Clearly she had never given birth before.

Xxx

Daryl sat back down on his bed. He was finally being allowed to wear his own clothes so he had been in the bathroom, changing into a pair of black sweatpants and a white t-shirt.

He shook his head, he could have sworn he just heard Lori yelling.

Xxx

Lori had changed into a hospital gown and was finally able to lie down in a bed. Carl and Sophia stood next to the bed, not sure what to do or say.

"Where's my husband?" Lori asked the nurse that was in the room.

"We're sorry Mrs. Grimes, we tried to reach him but the storm is making us unable to, we'll try again later." She said, a sorry look on her face.

Lori nodded and squeezed her eyes shut, the pain was killing her. "When can I get an epidural?" She asked.

Right at that moment, the doctor walked into the room. "I'm sorry, but we can't give you an epidural, you're too far along."

Sophia watched as the color drained from Lori's face. Another contraction hit her and Lori grabbed the nurse that had made the mistake of getting too close to her. "Get me a man in here, any man. I'm going to kill him." She said. The nurse nodded fearfully.

Carl turned to look at Sophia, "Get your dad!" He said. Sophia nodded, wide eyed. She didn't want to deny the woman, she looked like she was ready to kill someone any second.

Xxx

Daryl had finally made himself comfortable in his bed when Sophia came running into his room.

"Sophia, what are you doi-" He started, but was cut off by Sophia.

"Lori's having the baby, she needs you!" She said out of breath.

Daryl furrowed his eyebrows, "What? Why does she need me?"

Sophia just grabbed his arm and started dragging him out of the room, "Rick's at work and we can't reach him, Lori says she needs a man in there."

Daryl, who was still not really sure about what was going on, let his daughter drag him out of his room and towards the labor and Delivery unit.

Daryl froze when he walked into Lori's room, what he saw was nothing he expected. Lori had sweat running down her face and neck, her hair looked like it had been in a blender and she was actually showing her teeth from pain.

Carl grabbed Sophia's hand and led her out of the room, he knew things were about to get ugly.

Lori locked eyes with Daryl. "You! Get over here!" She said.

Daryl slowly started walking towards her, still wide eyed. When he was close enough, Lori grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him closer, so he was only a few inches from her face.

"I'm going to kill you. I'm going to kill you for doing this to Carol and then I'm going to kill Rick for doing this to me!" She growled.

"Uhmm... okay."

Xxx

Daryl was sure he was going to lose his hand, Lori was squeezing it so tightly that it was starting to turn blue.

"Where the fuck is her husband?" Daryl asked the nurse when she walked into the room.

"We still can't reach him." She said.

Daryl groaned, this was not how he planned on spending his day. The doctor walked into the room and took one look at the scene before him. Daryl was standing in a very awkward position, one of his hands in a sling while the other one was being tortured by Lori.

"Well…" He said and sat down on a chair between Lori's legs, "Let's see how dilated you are." He added and gave Lori a small smile, which she did not return.

"You are abou-" He started, but another contraction hit Lori, causing her to accidentally kick the doctor in the head. The doctor fell off his chair, and Daryl couldn't help but to grin, although he tried to hide it.

"Oh my god, are you alright?" The nurse asked and walked over to the doctor.

The doctor stood up and rubbed his sore head. "You have no idea how much that hurt." He said. Daryl, Lori and the nurse all glared at the doctor.

"Get out!" Lori hissed.

The doctor furrowed his eyebrows, "What?"

"I want another doctor, not you. Anyone else than you!" She screamed.

"I'm the only obstetrician working right no-"

"I don't care if it's the damn janitor that deliver's my baby! Just not you, you jerk!" Lori hissed.

The doctor looked at her wide eyed, but finally walked out of the room. Daryl sighed and looked at the nurse, "Can you get her another doctor?" He asked. The nurse looked briefly at Lori before returning her gaze back to Daryl, "No problem."

A few minutes later, Dr. Milton Mamet walked into the room. He took one look at Lori and turned around, ready to bolt. Daryl quickly pried Lori's fingers off his arm and walked over to the doctor. Putting his hand on his shoulder, he said, "You get in here right now, or I swear to GOD!" Daryl growled. He didn't even need to finish his threat, because Milton nodded and walked over to Lori. He awkwardly looked at her, no sure what to do.

"Well… do some doctor shit." Daryl said to him.

"I've never delivered a baby." Milton said, looking between Lori and Daryl. Daryl groaned and rubbed his face, this was going to be one long ass day.

Xxx

"We reached him!" The nurse said and walked into the room, "We reached your husband, and he'll be here any minute."

Lori smiled a very faint smile. She must have been exhausted, Daryl wasn't surprised. Her contractions were only a few minutes apart.

"You know, we always say that getting kicked in the nuts hurts more than delivering a baby, but right now I'm not so sure." Daryl said and smirked at Lori. Lori smiled a shook her head.

"You're 10 cm dilated, it's time to push." Milton said and pushed his glasses further up his nose.

Lori's eyes widened, "I can't, my husband's not here yet." She cried.

"We can't wait. The nurse said he'll be here any minute, I'm sure he'll make it in time." Dr. Milton reassured her.

"Maybe I should leave." Daryl muttered, but before he could even move, Lori grabbed his arm. "Don't you dare move Daryl Dixon!" She growled. Daryl was surprised how fast her mood could change. One second she was happy, the other panicked and then she was insane.

"Come on, push!" Milton said. Milton looked panicked at first, but now he seemed a little bit more relaxed. At first Daryl was convinced he would throw up, now he was only 70% sure he would.

Lori grabbed his arm and started pushing. Daryl couldn't help but to frown, actually pushing a baby out of there… Jesus, that had to hurt.

"She's crowning!" Milton yelled. Daryl frowned, what the hell was crowning?

Daryl was sure that Rick was an angel. At least that's what he felt like he was when Rick came running into that room. He had never been so happy to see that stupid sheriff's hat.

"Oh my god, Rick" Lori smiled when she saw her husband. Rick was by her side in a second, causing Lori to finally let go of Daryl and grab onto Rick. Daryl used that opportunity to get out of the room.

"The head's out!" Milton said. Daryl's stupid curiosity took over and he accidentally took a peek. What he saw scarred him for life. He nearly ran out of the room, wide eyed and his walked was stiff.

Shane, Carl and Sophia had been waiting outside the room, and stood up from the chair's they had been sitting on when they noticed him.

"Is the baby born?" Carl asked with a big grin on his face.

Daryl didn't answer, instead he sat down on one of the chairs, his gaze never leaving the floor.

Shane narrowed his eyes, "Dude, you alright?"

Daryl shook his head no, "I'm not ready to talk."

It took Shane a few seconds, but when he finally figured out why Daryl was acting that way, he burst out laughing. Carl and Sophia looked at each other, not sure what was so funny or why Daryl was acting so strange.

Milton came walking out of the room, causing Daryl to look up. Milton took a few steps forward before throwing up in one of the nearest trash cans.

Daryl smirked, at least he had been right about that.

**A/N: A few things, first of all i have no idea how this baby thing works, I've never given birth (thank god), so i hope what i wrote at least made a little sense :) Second of all, this week I'll be moving back home to Iceland (woohoo!) and i probably won't be able to update for a while, I'll try my best! :) And Daryl may have been a little OCC in this chapter, I just wasn't sure how to write this otherwise, this wasn't how this chapter was supposed to go. **

**Sorry for the long author's note and thanks for reading! **


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Walking Dead or any of the Walking dead characters. **

**A/N: I was finally able to write a new chapter! Things have been crazy for the last few days and on Friday I'll be starting a new job, so I'm not sure if I can update as frequently. I have actually been dreading writing this chapter, just because I wasn't really sure how I was going to. Buuut this is the result, I hope you guys like it. Also, my laptop decided to become a retard and actually deleted fucking Word! So now I have to use WordPad... I don't like it. **

**Anyway, thanks for the reviews and I hope you guys enjoy this chapter :) R&R!**

"She got a name yet?" Daryl asked as he stared at the small, red baby. It had been three days since Lori had given birth and they were currently all gathered around the bassinet in Rick's and Lori's living room. Rick and Lori looked at each other and smiled before looking back down at the baby. "Yeah. Her name is Judith." Lori answered.

Rick was looking at his newborn daughter with pride, and Daryl couldn't help but to feel jealous. He had never been able to see Sophia as a baby.

A few moments later, Rick looked at Daryl. "Can I talk to you for a second?" He asked. Daryl nodded and the two men headed towards the kitchen.

"What's up?" Daryl asked and leaned against the kitchen counter, his arms crossed over his chest.

Rick sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, "Have you asked Sophia about the man that witnessed Ed hitting her?" He asked.

Daryl shook his head no, "Haven't had time, since I just came home yesterday."

"You think we could talk to her now? The sooner we get this over with the better." Rick asked. Daryl nodded and Rick quickly walked into the living room to get Sophia.

"What's going on?" Sophia asked once they were back inside the kitchen and looked between her dad and Rick.

"You mind if we ask you a few questions?" Rick asked. Sophia shrugged and sat down by the kitchen table. Rick and Daryl sat down across from her.

"Do you remember the man who saw Ed hit you?" Rick asked, cutting straight to the case. Sophia frowned, "Yeah, a little. Why?"

Rick and Daryl shared a look. They didn't want to scare her by telling her that Ed had caused the car accident. Rick looked back at Sophia, "We just want to find him, so that we can prove that Ed hurt you. That way maybe we can let Ed go to prison."

Sophia took a few second to progress what Rick had just told her. Prison? Would he go to prison for what he had done? "I don't remember much." She finally said. Rick stood up and grabbed a pen and a piece of paper from the counter by the sink. "I remembered that he was Asian. He had a baseball cap... And I think his name was Glenn." She added.

Rick smiled, "That's really good Sophia. Thank you." He said and finished writing what she had told him. "Can I go now?" Sophia asked and stood up. Daryl nodded and Sophia walked to the living room, probably to find Carl.

"Think you can find him?" Daryl asked.

Rick shrugged, "Not sure, I'll do my best. But how many Asian Glenn's are there in this town anyway?"

xxx

It had been two days since Rick had tried to find this Glenn and he was starting to get desperate. He had no criminal records or anything. He was really starting to consider putting up flyers.

Rick almost fell off his chair when Shane slammed a box of donuts on his desk. "Morning sunshine!" Shane laughed and sat down by his own desk. Rick narrowed his eyes at him but then grabbed himself a donut. "Morning." He mumbled with his mouth full.

"You alright?" Shane asked and looked closer at his friend, "You've been acting kind of strange the last few days."

Rick shrugged, "I'm fine. Just stressed about the baby and stuff." Shane nodded, but still looked at Rick with his eyes narrowed. "Mhmm" He hummed.

Rick swallowed before looking back at Shane, he hadn't told him about Glenn, but maybe he could help him. "I'm actually looking for someone." He said.

Shane sat up straighter in his seat, "Who?"

Rick made sure that Leon Basset wasn't eavesdropping, he was really noisy at times. "A man that witnessed Ed hitting Sophia." He said in a low voice.

Shane frowned, "He hit her? When?"

"A few months back. If we find him we can prove that Ed wants to hurt her, then we can prove that he caused the car accident." Rick said.

Shane chewed his lower lip, "Are you sure that he did? He could have died just as easily as Daryl and Sophia. Why would he want to risk his life?" He asked.

"He doesn't have anything to lose." Rick said. "Think about it. His wife died, he doesn't have a kid and from what I've heard most of his family is dead as well."

"I don't think that's a good enough reason." Shane mumbled.

Rick sighed, "I just don't want Sophia to get hurt again. She and Daryl almost died last time. Better safe than sorry."

Shane nodded and leaned back in his chair. "Yeah, alright. Who's that guy you've been looking for?" He asked.

Rick smiled, he knew Shane would come around. "I don't know. All I know is that his name is Glenn and he's Asian."

Suddenly Shane's face lid up, "I think I know him!" He said. "His name is Glenn Rhee, he delivers pizza at my apartment all the time."

Rick sat up straighter in his chair, "What pizza place?" Shane gave him the place's number and then Rick stood up from his chair.

"Wait, you're going there now?" Shane asked.

Rick shrugged and put on his sheriff's hat, "Why not? I have nothing to do anyway." Shane nodded, he had lots of paperwork to do so he couldn't join him, "Good luck." He said before Rick walked out of the station.

xxx

It had been a really calm day for Glenn so far. He was sitting with most of his co-workers in the break room. Only a few people ordered pizza at 10 in the morning anyway.

And he was more than a little shocked when a police officer walked into the break room and asked for him.

"Glenn Rhee?" Rick asked and looked directly at Glenn.

Glenn's eyes widened. _Oh shit_. "Y-Yeah, that's me."

"If you could just step outside, I need to ask you a few questions." Rick said, still standing in the doorway. Glenn nodded and got up on shaky legs. His parents were going to kill him.

Glenn turned to look at Rick once they had gotten outside. "Is this about all those movies I downloaded last week? Because a lot of people do that and I don't understand why I should be the one to get arrested."

Rick narrowed his eyes, "What are you talking about?"

"... What are _you _talking about?"

Rick sighed, "Look, I'm not here to arrest you Glenn. Like I said, I'm only here to ask you a few questions."

Glenn smiled from relief. "Alright, I can do that."

"You remembered about three months ago, a man hit a young girl out in the street, you stopped him before he had the chance to do anything else and walked the girl home." Glenn nodded, of course he remembered. He often thought about that incident and wondered if the little girl was alright. Maggie had been so proud of him. "I remember." He finally said.

"Great, because then I'm going to need your help." Rick said.

xxx

"Sophia! Get in here!"

Sophia looked up from the book she had been reading. Oh no. She put the book down on her bed before standing up and walking into the kitchen where her dad was standing with his hand on his hip. "What?" Sophia asked.

"I just got an interesting call from your basketball coach. He was wondering if you were getting better after getting lanchonophobia." Daryl said and raised an eyebrow at her.

Oh no. Busted.

"Well? Care to explain?" Daryl asked.

Sophia was shuffling from foot to foot, looking at anything but her dad. "I kind of lied. I just didn't want to try basketball again, it's so boring."

Daryl shook his head, "Why didn't you just tell me? It wasn't like I was going to force you." He said, his tone softer.

Sophia shrugged, "I don't know... Just did."

"What do you really want to do?" Daryl asked and started going thru the cupboard, looking for something to cook for dinner.

"Ballet." Sophia answered. She had always wanted to try ballet, but of course Ed didn't want her to.

"Then you'll do that. What ever you want." Daryl mumbled. Sophia looked up, her lips slightly parted. Everything was so easy with Daryl. She was so used to being nervous about asking Ed for anything.

Suddenly Daryl smirked and looked at Sophia, "Do you even know what lanchonophobia is?"

"No, isn't it some kind of disease?" Sophia asked, her head slightly tilted to the side.

"It means that you're afraid of vegetables." Daryl said. Sophia was silent for a few seconds before bursting out laughing. Now her whole basketball team thought she was home recovering from a vegetable illness. Daryl couldn't help but to chuckle.

Rick got out of his car and walked towards Daryl's house. He had finally finished talking to Glenn and things were really starting to get together. Now he only find a way to prove that Ed had caused the accident. But today he had made some progress, it was something. He knocked on the front door and waited for a few seconds until Sophia opened the door.

"Hi" She said and gave him a smile before looking behind him, obviously looking for Carl.

"Carl's at home," He quickly said, "I actually came here to talk to your dad." Rick added. Sophia nodded and opened the door wider, inviting him in. "He's in the kitchen." Sophia said before walking off and disappearing in her bedroom.

Rick stepped inside and closed the door behind him, he could smell something cooking.

"Hi," Rick said and stepped into the kitchen. Daryl looked up, obviously just noticing Rick now.

"Oh, hey." He said before going to focusing on cooking. Cooking and just doing anything with one hand turned out to be more difficult than he thought it would be. He couldn't wait to get rid of that sling.

Rick sat down at the kitchen table and took off his hat, "I found Glenn." He said.

Daryl looked up, a small smile playing on his lips. "Great, can you now arrest that fucker?" He asked.

Rick smiled, "I could, but id rather find out if he did cause the accident on purpose first." He said. "And I think I found out how were going to do it."

xxx

Sophia walked down the street, not going straight home after school. She remembered the conversation she had with her dad last night very clearly.

_"You finished?" Daryl asked and picked up Sophia's plate when she nodded. He carried their plates to the kitchen and put them in the sink. _

_"Can I go to my room?" Sophia asked. _

_"Actually I need to talk to you." Daryl said and turned before walking back towards her on the couch. He sat down next to her and rubbed his growing stubble with his uninjured hand. "Remembered when you asked me about Ed? Why he was sitting by the ambulance?" He asked. _

_Sophia nodded. "Yeah, but I thought you didn't know why."_

_Daryl looked down. "I actually do. He was the one who was driving the truck that hit us. There is a chance that he did it on purpose." He said, not taking his eyes off the floor. _

_Sophia frowned, "What? Why didn't you tell me?" _

_"I'm telling you now." Daryl said, finally looking at her. Sophia stood up, storming out of the living room. _

_"Where do you think you're going?" Daryl called after her. _

_"My room." Sophia yelled back and slammed the bedroomdoor behind her. _

She had finally reached her destination. She had only been here a couple of times before, and both of those times she had been with her mom. Ed's workplace.

The old, dirty door squeaked when she opened it. Oil and rubbed were the first two things she smelled when she stepped into the truck shop. She looked around, the place was mostly empty. She was ready to turn back when she noticed him. Ed was sitting in an old dirty couch, a cigarette in his mouth. And he was looking directly at her.

Sophia closed the door and walked towards him. Neither of them said a thing, they just looked at each other with narrowed eyes. She stopped in front of him, a good couple of meters between them.

"What are you doing here?" Ed asked and took another drag of his cigarette. "Finally getting sick of that redneck?"

Sophia nodded. "Yeah"

Ed's eyes widened slightly, he had not expected that answer. Well, it only took a little time until she realized it. He grinned, showing his yellowing teeth.

"Remember what you said to me? At the zoo." Sophia asked and crossed her arms over her chest. Ed slowly nodded. "I want to do it." Sophia added. "I want to get our revenge. For mom."

Ed chuckled, "I see you're finally coming around." He stood up and walked towards an office, Sophia followed him.

"You got a plan?" She asked.

Ed nodded, "You bet." He said, then turned around and kneeled in front of her. "You have to understand. With the car accident, I didn't know you were in the car too."

Sophia narrowed her eyes at him. "So you did it on purpose?" She asked.

Ed nodded. "I sure did."

He barely had time to stand up when the door to the shop was kicked open and Shane and Rick along with other officers walked inside the shop.

"Ed Peletier," Rick said while Shane cuffed Ed, "You are arrested for an attempted murder. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to be speak to an attorney, and to have an attorney present during any questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be provided for you at government expense."

Ed looked at Sophia. "You little bitch! You set me up!" He yelled. Sophia slowly backed away, all confidence leaving her. She backed into something hard and turned around to see her dad.

"You alright?" He asked.

Sophia nodded and smiled, glad that he was there. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Daryl smiled and put his hand on her shoulder. "You did good." He said. They watched as Shane led Ed out of the shop. Ed was kicking and cursing, trying to get out of Shane's firm grip.

Rick walked up to Daryl and Sophia. "You alright?" He asked Sophia. She nodded and gave him a weak smile. "We just need to ask Sophia a few questions. Then you two are free to go." Rick added.

While Rick was talking to Sophia, Daryl slipped out of the shop and walked towards the police cruiser that Ed was currently sitting in. The fucker actually looked like he might cry. Do matter how big he might act, he was a pussy. Daryl glanced at Shane who was standing by the cruiser, Shane looked at him for a few seconds before nodding and stepping away. The window was slightly open and Daryl walked up to it. The two men stared at each other for a few seconds. Ed smirked when he noticed Daryl's sling, obviously proud of his work.

Daryl stepped closer so the only thing separating the two men were a few inches and the window.

"I told you not to touch her again." Daryl said, low enough so Ed could only hear. "Let's just make one thing clear. I'm gonna kill you." He said before backing away and then walking back to the shop.

**A/N: Yeah, I really considered killing Ed, but I think he deserves to rot in prison. Oh, I noticed another thing, a few chapters ago I actually wrote Sophia's birthday... turns out her birthday wasn't supposed to be here for at least a few months. Now I'm actually not as shocked that I got an F in math. So let's just *cough cough* forget it ever happened? ;)**

**Thanks for reading! **


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Walking Dead or any of the characters. **

**A/N: Sorry that I haven't updated for a while, I actually finished this chapter on monday but my laptop won't connect to the internet so i didn't have the chance to upload it until now. If anyone here knows how to upload a chapter on mobile please let me know!**

**Hope you guys like this chapter, R&R! **

"Nope, no way!" Daryl said and put his hand on his hip.

Rick sighed and rubbed his growing beard, "It's the only one in your price range that I could find on such short notice." He said.

Daryl narrowed his eyes, "This? This piece of shit was the only one you could find?" Daryl asked.

"Come on. It's not that bad..." Rick said and cocked his head to the side, a frown on his face. "Ok you're right, it's horrible."

Daryl rolled his eyes, "Thank you!" He said. There was no way that he was driving that car. "You seriously thought that I would drive a yellow 1995 Kia Pride?"

Rick couldn't help but to smirk, "You gonna take the bus?" He asked and looked at Daryl.

"I would rather ride Sophia's bike than that car. And the bike is pink!" Daryl answered, which caused Rick to laugh. He put his hand on Daryl's shoulder and led him out of the garage, "Let's go, I'll drive you to work this time. But tomorrow were gonna have to get you a helmet. A pink one so it will match the bike." Rick joked.

Daryl punched Rick in the shoulder, but couldn't stop the small smile from forming.

**Three months later**

"I'll get the next round." Morgan said and stood up. The other's mumbled a thank you without looking up from their empty bottles. A few moments later, Morgan sat back down by the table holding four beers, handing one to each person sitting by the table.

"Damn I can't stand Christmas music." Shane mumbled and took a sip of the cold drink, "It's everywhere! I actually came here with you guys hoping to get away from it, but no, even the damn bar is playing Christmas songs." He added.

Rick smiled, "Come on! Where's your holiday spirit?" He asked.

Shane looked up from his bottle and narrowed his eyes at Rick, "It died when I heard Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj singing 'I Wish You A Merry Christmas' yesterday."

At this Daryl looked up, "I live with a ten year old girl. The only thing in hear during the day are those damn pop songs. Justin Bieber, One Direction, you name it. I actually started singing along yesterday, I've never hated myself as much." Shane, Morgan and Rick all broke into a fit of laughter. Daryl shook his head, "Yeah Rick you're laughing now, just wait until Judith grows up."

xxx

Twenty minutes later the men had nothing to talk about and were sitting in complete silence. Rick looked up, seeing that his friends were occupied looking at their bottles or something else. He sighed loudly, hoping that the others would notice. When he got no response, he sighed again, even louder and more dramatic.

Shane rolled his eyes, "What's wrong Rick?" He mumbled.

Rick waved his hand at him, "Oh nothing, I'm fine." Shane gave Rick a 'are you kidding me' look, causing Rick to finally say what was troubling him. "It's Lori. We've been having problems."

Morgan rubbed his bottom lip, "What kind of problems?" He asked.

Rick shrugged, "We've just been fighting a lot. I think what we need is a night out, like a date night. But we can't do that with the kids..." He trailed off, looking at his friends with hope in his eyes.

Shane shook his head, "Ah no. I've got plans."

Rick looked over at Morgan, "Sorry bud," He said, "Me, Jenny and Duane are all visiting Jenny's parents tomorrow."

The three men all looked over at Daryl. Daryl looked up, his eyebrows wrinkled together, "What? No!"

Rick sighed, "Come on! You already told us that you have no plans this weekend. Please just do this one favor for me." Rick begged.

Daryl shook his head, "One is enough, I can't take care of someone's else's kid too."

"You'll be fine," Rick reassured him, "Carl is very good with the baby, he can help you."

Daryl's eyes widened, "I have to take care of the baby too?"

Rick grinned, "That a yes?"

"Absolutely not! I can't take care of a baby!"

xxx

"Here's her formula, diapers, extra clothes." Rick said and handed the items over to a frowning Daryl, "Here's my number, Lori's number, the number of the hotel well be staying at. Just call me if there's anything you need or have any questions." Rick said and smiled.

Rick sighed when Daryl didn't say anything in return, "It's just 24 hours Daryl. Keep them alive for that long and you'll be fine."

"If I don't, does that mean I don't have to baby-sit again?" Daryl asked.

Rick snickered. "Oh! One more thing." He said and handed the baby over to Daryl. "Here." He said and smiled.

Daryl looked at the drooling baby in his arms. He had gotten rid of the sling a month ago, so he was able to hold the baby and the diaper bag at the same time.

"See you tomorrow." Rick said and turned around, walking towards his car.

Daryl kept glaring at Rick until his car was out of sight. He had no idea how he somehow ended up taking care of three kids. Damn Rick and his cop skills. He sighed and turned around, walking back into the house. Carl and Sophia were sitting on the couch watching TV, so Daryl sat down on the couch as well.

He sighed and looked between the three kids. His goal was to keep them all alive for the next 24 hours. Yeah, he could do that.

"I'm bored." Carl mumbled when the show they had been watching was over.

"Me too." Sophia sighed. It was only one in the afternoon, they still had the whole day.

"What do you guys want to do?" Daryl asked.

"There's some Christmas stuff at the mall. They have Santa's, candy and stuff." Carl said and smiled. That had gotten Sophia's attention, "Yeah! Can we please go?" Sophia asked and looked at Daryl with puppy like eyes.

Daryl shrugged, "Sure." What could go wrong anyway?

xxx

"That way!"

"No, that way!"

Carl and Sophia were trying to drag Daryl in every direction imaginable, and he trying to push Judith's stroller at the same time. "Will you stop it?" Daryl growled, "Just pick one thing and do it!"

Sophia and Carl both agreed on checking out small playground inside the mall, giving Daryl the chance to sit down. He took off his scarf, it was extremely hot inside.

"Oow, she is so cute."

Daryl peeked over his shoulder to see a woman looking at Judith with a smile on her face. "Is she yours?" She asked.

"Uhm actuall-" Daryl started but a woman's voice cut him off.

"Sarah? Who is that?"

A couple of more girls walked over to him and the baby. Judith seemed to enjoy the attention, but Daryl on the other hand did not.

Ten minutes later, at least six women had gathered around Daryl and Judith. Yeah, coming here had defiantly been a bad idea.

"Your girlfriend must be pretty glad that you decided to take the kids, giving her a day off." One girl said while twisting a strand of her hair around her finger.

"Eeeh, no girlfriend." Daryl realized his mistake a few seconds too late, as all the women either scooted or leaned closer to Daryl when he said that.

Sophia looked up, looking for her dad. She frowned when he saw him sitting with at least six women. There was no way the was letting some woman move into their place and ruin what they had. Carl noticed her reaction and moved so he was standing next to her. "You got a plan?" He asked.

Sophia nodded, "Follow my lead."

Sophia jumped down from the small castle and sat down on the ground. She rubbed her eyes so they became red before grabbing her ankle and yelling as whiny as she could. "DAD!"

Daryl immediately looked up when he heard Sophia's voice. He saw her sitting on the ground, holding her ankle. He stood up. "Carl," He called and the boy was by his side in seconds, "Watch your sister." He said. Daryl continued walking and stopped when he reached Sophia before kneeling in front of her.

"What happened?" He asked, his voice full of concern.

Sophia felt a little bad when she saw the look on his face, but she knew she had to continue with her lie. "I fell. My ankle hurts real bad." She said in a low, sad voice.

Sophia looked over her dads shoulder, her frown became even deeper when she saw that the women were almost cooing over Daryl's concern. Her plan was not working the way it was supposed too.

Daryl gently removed Sophia's hand from her ankle and put a little pressure on it, "This hurt?"

Sophia nodded. Daryl sighed, "I doubt it's broken, but it may be sprained." He said.

Sophia looked Daryl in the eyes, she had even managed to squeeze out a couple of tears, maybe she should become an actress. "Can you hold me? I wanna go home." She said.

"Of course baby." Daryl said and gently picked her up. Sophia wrapped her arms around his neck. Daryl walked back towards Carl who was standing protectively next to his baby sister, not letting anyone near her. "Can you take your sister? Were going home." Daryl said. Carl nodded and followed Daryl when he started walking.

They had barely made it two steps when a woman walked up to Daryl and poked his shoulder. Sophia narrowed her eyes when she saw the woman, her stupid blond hair and stupid big boobs.

"I'm Katie." The woman introduced herself, "Ever need someone to talk to or just whatever, call me." She added and handed Daryl a small piece of paper.

Daryl put the note in the front pocket of his jeans, "Right, thanks." He mumbled before turning back around and continuing to walk out the mall. Sophia peeked over Daryl's shoulder. Most of the women were still looking at Daryl so she used the opportunity when her dad wasn't watching and stuck her tongue out at them.

The women gasped at her rude behavior, causing Sophia to smirk.

xxx

It had been a long day for all of them. So instead of cooking, they decided to order pizza.

"Oh god, what is that smell?" Sophia asked and put down the slice that she had been eating. Daryl and Carl both sniffed.

"Oh," Carl said and smiled, "Judith just pooped."

"Yuck!" Sophia said and stuck out her tongue. Carl smirked and looked over at Daryl, "And guess who has to change her?"

Daryl stared at the baby that was lying on his bed. He had never changed a diaper before, how the hell were you supposed to do that? He knew that first he had to remove her clothes, so he did just that. After that came the bad part. Removing the dirty diaper.

He could help but to wrinkle his nose when he did that, "Good lord, what did you eat? Mexican?" The rest of the progress went smoothly, until he had to put on a new diaper. The baby wouldn't stop fussing and kicking her legs, and Daryl was starting to get frustrated.

"Stop" He mumbled when Judith's face started to get red and she began to whimper. Just great. A few minutes later he had the diaper on, well if it was on correctly was a completely different story.

He picked up the baby and gently shook her twice. The diaper stayed in place, causing Daryl to smirk, "You're a little ass kicker, aren't you?"

xxx

The next morning Daryl felt like complete shit. Judith had woken up at 2 am and would not stop crying. She didn't go back to sleep until 5 am and then two hours later the damn dog wouldn't stop barking.

Now he sat by the kitchen table, drinking his third cup of coffee while Sophia and Carl watched TV and Judith was lying on a blanket, playing with a toy.

Three hours later, exactly at 1, Rick parked his car in the driveway and walked up to the front door with a big grin on his face. Daryl opened the door, looking like the exact opposite of Rick.

"Hey," Rick said, "how did it go?"

"Just peachy." Daryl mumbled and handed Judith and her things over to Rick. Rick still hadn't stopped smiling and Daryl was starting to get suspicios. "You got lucky, didn't you?" Daryl asked with his eyes narrowed.

If was hardly possible, but Rick's smile became even bigger. "Oh yeah."

"Well, while you were getting some I was here changing your daughters diaper. Seriously, what are you feeding her?"

Rick laughed at the same time as Carl walked out of the front door holding his back pack. "Ready to go?" Rick asked his son. Carl nodded and they made their way towards their car after saying goodbye to Sophia and Daryl.

xxx

"Grab some milk." Daryl said as he and Sophia made their way down aisle 5 in their local supermarket. A few moments later Sophia came back holding milk. "Got everything on the list?" She asked. Daryl nodded and they walked towards the check out line.

"Hey dad?" Sophia suddenly asked and looked at Daryl.

"Yeah?"

"How are babies made?" Sophia asked, her face full of innocent. Daryl almost choked on his saliva when she asked that. Sophia also seemed to get the attention from the people standing in front of them and behind them in the line.

"What?" Daryl choked out.

Sophia shrugged, "I know it has something to do with the mom, the dad and _sex._" She said, whispering the last word, "But I don't understand how babies are made that way."

"Uhm... I... you... me neither.." Daryl stammered. Where the hell had that come from?

Sophia huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, "Fine. I'll just ask uncle Merle."

Daryl sighed, "I don't think that's such a good idea." He said. His brother had actually been the one to talk to him about the bees and flowers, and Daryl knew that he would never _ever _forget that conversation.

The line moved and Daryl and Sophia waited patiently while the clerk scanned in their items. Sophia tilted her head to the side, taking a better look at the clerk. He was probably in his early twenties, a little over weight and had curly hair. "Have you ever had sex?" She asked him with a blank face.

The clerk froze in the middle of typing something on the register. He looked between Daryl and Sophia, "Sir, control your child." He said in a panicked voice. Daryl had to cough to cover up his laughter. "Come on," He said to Sophia and picked up the grocery bags before walking out of the store.

**Thanks for reading! I'm almost finished with the next chapter, I will probably upload it later tonight or tomorrrow morning. **


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Walking Dead or any of the Walking Dead characters. **

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Hah I met a fellow Walking Dead fan at a party tonight, needless to say we hit it off pretty well. **

"That was rude." Daryl said as he led Sophia out of the supermarket, although he couldn't hide the fact that he had been amused by the whole thing.

Sophia shrugged, not sure what she had done wrong. "It was just a question, no big deal." They both sat down in the green 1998 GMC Sierra pick up truck. Daryl had finally found something that he was able to drive without wearing a paper bag over his head.

"Are we gonna talk about it?" Sophia asked and put on her seatbelt.

"About what?" Daryl asked and started the truck.

"How babies are made." Sophia answered. Daryl sighed, he was really starting to consider letting Merle talk to her. "Not now." He answered.

xxx

Daryl looked up from the car he had been working on for the last few hours, he could see his boss talking to some customers on the other side of the garage. Sophia kept asking him about having the talk, but just thinking about the fact that his little girl would have sex one day made Daryl sick to his stomach.

He knew he had to ask Mark for advice, he was the only one he knew that had kids. Well, except Rick and Morgan, but they had boys, it was different. Plus he felt more comfortable talking to Mark, he had known him since he was just a teenager.

"Hey, Mark?" Daryl said when his boss walked past him. Mark stopped and turned to look at Daryl, "What?"

Daryl took a quick look around, the other guys couldn't hear them, it was uncomfortable enough for him to talk to Mark, he didn't want the rest of his co-workers to hear this too. "Can I talk to you for a sec?"

Mark shrugged and leaned against the car Daryl had been working on, "What's troubling you kid?" Mark was only ten years older than Daryl, but still called him kid. And that pissed Daryl off to no end.

Daryl rubbed the back of his neck, "You have three girls, right?" Mark nodded so Daryl sighed before continuing. "Well, my daughter keeps pressuring me to have... _the talk,_ and I don't know how to do it. You've done it before, right?"

Mark was silent for a few seconds before bursting out laughing. "Oh boy, I remember. Well, it was my wife that did most of the talking but I was there, but it was still one of the most awkward moments in my life." He said and put his hand on Daryl's shoulder, "And you're actually the one who has to do it!" He said and laughed even louder.

Daryl groaned, "Just tell me how it's done." Mark took a few moments to calm down and wiped the tears from his eyes. "Alright, just give me a few seconds to remember."

xxx

Sophia looked at her uncle who was sitting on the other side of the couch, they were currently watching some cheesy Christmas cartoon. "Merle?"

"What?" Merle mumbled without taking his eyes off the TV set.

"How are babies made?" Sophia asked. She was sick of waiting for her dad to explain it too her, Carl had already had the talk with his dad.

Merle let out a quiet laugh and turned to look at Sophia. "Well, when two people like each other, they do a thing called fuc-"

"Shut up, Merle!"

They both turned to see Daryl walk into the house, he was shivering from the cold outside. Merle chuckled, "I was just explaining to my niece here how babies are made. I don't see the harm in it. I talked to you, didn't I?" Daryl sent him a look from the kitchen where he was grabbing himself a beer.

Merle stood up from the couch and stretched his sore legs, "I better go." He said and picked up the keys to his truck. "Remembered Daryl," He said and opened the door, "A banana is always the best one to-" He didn't have a chance to finish because Daryl threw a book in his direction, forcing Merle to get out of the house before the hard object hit his head.

Sophia looked at her dad with her eyes narrowed, "A banana is what?"

"Healthy. A banana is always the best fruit to eat for breakfast." Daryl quickly explained. He sat down on the couch next to Sophia and popped his beer open before taking a big sip. "Alright, what do you want to know?" He finally asked after swallowing.

"I want to know why sex has anything to do with how babies are made."

Daryl sighed, god it was the worst one. "Fine. So.. When the- the dads...pe- I can't do this."

Sophia groaned, "Come on, it's not that big of a deal! Carl has already talked to his dad."

Daryl sighed. "Ok... So when the mom and dad really love each other-"

"You didn't love my mom."

"Let me finish. So when the mom and dad love each other _or _like each other, I liked your mom very much, they...they.."

"Have sex." Sophia finished for him.

"Yeah...exactly. So when they both, oh god this is horrible, when they both... finish, the dads _stuff _goes to a special place in mommy where the baby can grow."

Sophia was silent for a few moments. "I don't get it."

"Me neither."

Sophia punched him in the shoulder. "Dad!"

"I won't tell you anything else on that topic, alright. Not until you're older... Like 30 or something." Daryl said and took another sip of his beer, drowning almost half of it.

Sophia huffed, "Fine. But what's a virgin?"

"It's something that you're supposed to stay like for a very very long time."

xxx

A few days later Daryl had to take an extra long shift at work and he was currently alone at the garage. It was 7:30 and he would get off work in an hour. He had gotten Merle to watch Sophia since he wasn't comfortable about leaving her at home alone.

"Hello?"

Daryl looked to the direction of the voice and saw a cute blonde make her way into the garage. There was something familiar about her but Daryl couldn't remember where he had seen her before. The girl had obviously not seen him and started to make her way back out of the garage. Daryl rolled from underneath the car he had been working on. "Yeah?"

The blonde stopped and turned around, smiling when she saw Daryl. "Oh thank god, I thought there was nobody here. It's kind of an emergency, think you can help me?" She asked.

Daryl wiped the grease from his hands with a cloth and looked at the clock. 7:35, this better be important. "Sure." He said and shrugged.

The girls smile became even bigger. "There's something wrong with my uncle's RV, it's making a weird sound. Can you take a look?" Daryl nodded and the blonde handed him the keys to the RV so Daryl could drive it into the garage.

"You need a new radiator hose." Daryl mumbled fifteen minutes later. The blonde looked down, seeming crushed. "You have one of those?" She asked.

"Maybe. Although I'm not sure if it will fit." Daryl answered.

xxx

"Why are you driving an RV in December, anyway?" Daryl asked as he tried to look for a new hose.

The blonde smiled, "It's a Christmas gift to my uncle from my sister and me. He sold it a few years ago when my aunt died. We just bought it back for him."

"I found one." Daryl said and pulled out a radiator hose. "But I think it's too big." He added.

"Let's check it out." The blonde said and hopped down from the table she had been sitting on.

xxx

"Why can't I just stay at home?" Sophia sighed.

"Because your daddy doesn't want that and I need to meet a few guys in an hour, you can stay at the garage with Daryl until he's finished." Merle said and parked his truck in front of his brother's work place. "Come on," He said and jumped out of the car.

When they neared the garage Merle could definably near some voices. Didn't Daryl say he would be working alone? He was just about to open the door when he heard something very strange.

_"It's too big." _He heard a woman say. Merle eyes widened and he was quick to cover Sophia's ears.

Then he heard his brother grunt a couple of times. _"If I can just get it to fit." _

"Hello! We got a child over here!" Merle yelled. He wasn't usually a cock blocker, but this was just too much for small ears to hear.

_"Merle? What the hell?" _

A few seconds later Daryl opened the door, fully clothed. "What are you two doing here?" He asked and looked between Merle and Sophia.

"What the hell are _you_ doing?" Merle asked with his eyes narrowed.

Daryl opened the door wider to reveal a woman, also fully clothed, standing in front of an RV. "I'm working, you idiot." Daryl said and looked down at his daughter, "Aren't you supposed to be at home?"

"He brought me here." Sophia said and pointed at Merle.

"I just remembered that I was gonna meet up with a couple of buddies. Your kid, you take her." Merle said and gently pushed Sophia towards Daryl. Daryl sighed and put his hand on Sophia's shoulder, "Come on. It's freezing outside." He said and they both walked back inside and closed the door behind them.

"Amy?" Sophia said and looked closer at the woman. The blonde smiled when she noticed the girl. "Hi, Sophia." Daryl looked between the two females, "You two know each other?"

Sophia walked forward and sat down next to the blonde. "Yeah, she's my ballet instructor." Daryl nodded, for the past three months Sophia had been trying out ballet and so far she really seemed to enjoy it. Usually the parents sat and watched as the kids had practice, but Daryl had been so busy with work that he hadn't been able too.

"Well, it's nice to finally meet you." Amy said and grinned at Daryl.

xxx

While Daryl was working on the RV, Amy and Sophia were talking on the other side of the garage.

"I think you're ready for the Christmas show next week." Amy said and took a sip of water from her bottle. Sophia looked up, "You think so?"

Amy nodded, "Yeah, you've made a lot of progress in only three months. I'm impressed." At that Sophia couldn't help but to grin.

"All done." Daryl suddenly said and tried to wipe the dirt from his fingers. "But I think you should get a better hose, this one is just temporary."

"Thank you so much." Amy said and picked up her purse. "How much to I owe you?"

Daryl put his hand up, "Nothing, it's on the house." He said. He turned to look at Sophia, "Ready to go?"

**A/N: Ok the ending was a little weird, but I'm really really tired. And I was wondering.. Should I pair Daryl with someone? Because someone said that I should pair him with Maggie (KateStardust) and someone else gave me the suggestion of pairing him with Amy (Nightmare on Stillwater). I just wanted to know if you guys wanted him to be with someone? And if I would, this story would not turn into a romance story, it would still mostly focus and Daryl's and Sophia's relationship. Anyway, please PM me or leave a review if you guys have an opinion. **

**Thanks for reading! **


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Walking Dead or the Walking Dead characters. **

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews and sorry that I haven't been able to answer them all personally, things have just been crazy for the last few weeks! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter, R&R! **

"Come on! We're gonna be late!" Sophia shouted from her bedroom. Daryl tried to tie his tie for a couple of more minutes until grunting in annoyance and throwing the small fabric on his bed. Who needed a tie anyway? He walked into the bathroom and stopped in front of the mirror above the sink. He was wearing his only suit. He had only worn it once before, at his aunt's funeral.

Sophia appeared in the doorway, "Hurry up! I'm supposed to be there in twenty minutes." She said before disappearing again.

Two minutes later Daryl was ready and was waiting for Sophia. Suddenly she came running past him and ripped open the front door before running out, a duffel bag on her shoulder. Daryl sighed and grabbed the house and car keys before walking to the front door, making sure that every light was off before closing and locking the door.

Sophia was already sitting in the truck and had her seatbelt on when he opened the car door. "I'm gonna be late!" Sophia whined, waiting impatiently for Daryl to start the car.

"Relax, I know what I'm doing." Daryl mumbled and backed the car out of the garage. A few minutes later Daryl sneaked a glance at Sophia. She was nervously rubbing her hands together, constantly checking the clock on the dashboard. "You nervous?" He asked and took a turn to the left.

Sophia shrugged, "There are a lot of people coming." She answered in a lower voice than usual.

"You'll be fine." Daryl reassured her. A few minutes later he finally parked the truck in front of her school. Daryl didn't even get the chance to say goodbye before Sophia jumped out of the car. Daryl looked at the clock, 18:25. She wasn't even supposed to be there for another five minutes, but that kid was always panicking. Daryl sighed and leaned back in the chair. The show wouldn't start until 19:00, and now he either had to wait here or go inside. He decided to wait, big crowds freaked him out.

Ten minutes later someone started banging on his window. Daryl opened the door, ready to give shit to whoever thought that knocking on his window was a good idea. He rolled his eyes when he realized it was Rick. "What the hell are you doing here? Isn't this where the girls are performing ballet?" Daryl asked his friend.

"Yeah but this is the entire school, everybody are performing something. Get ready to sit for in an uncomfortable chair for two hours, listening to crappy Christmas songs and-" Rick didn't get the chance to finish, because Lori smacked him in the back of the head.

"Rick! Your son is performing tonight." She scolded, baby Judith in her arms. Daryl couldn't actually see the baby, it was covered in blankets and other things to keep it warm. Now it was just a big bundle of colorful blanket's in Lori's arms. Lucky bastard, it could sleep and eat the whole time.

"Come on Lori, you know it's the truth." Rick argued and put his hand on his hip.

Lori shook her head, "Whatever, just don't let Carl hear you say things like that. I'm going inside, it's freezing out here." She said and started walking towards the school.

"Really? Two hours?" Daryl asked and stepped out of the car. Rick nodded, "Yeah. And you sit there the whole time thinking that the food that you get in the end is the reward for surviving this. But no, the food tastes so horrible you actually miss your mother in laws cooking." Rick said as the two men made their way towards the large building. Daryl snorted but soon his face grew serious. "Wait, we were supposed to bring food?"

Rick nodded and put his hand on Daryl's shoulder, "Yeah. But don't worry. Lori asked me to cook something this time. Of course I forgot so I went to the store and bought a pack of Oreo's. Put those things on a fancy plate and BOOM, you have a five star dish my friend." He said before leaning closer to Daryl, "I bought one for you too."

Ten minutes later they finally found Lori, she was sitting next to a woman, the two females were so deep in a conversation they didn't even notice when Daryl and Rick sat down next to them. The place was already filled with parents, siblings and other relatives.

"Dad!"

Daryl looked to the side to see Sophia making her way towards him. She was wearing black tight's, a black leotard and a red tutu. "You forgot to do my hair!" She hissed when she reached Daryl. Rick put his hand in front of his mouth, trying to stifle a laugh. But his eyes grew wide when Daryl calmly told Sophia to sit down on the floor between his legs and then started making a ballet bun.

When Sophia was satisfied, she stood up and thanked Daryl before walking back towards the other girls.

"What?" Daryl asked when he noticed Lori and Rick staring at him. Lori had an amused expression on her face while Rick's eyes were still wide. "It's not like she has someone else to do it." Daryl quickly explained.

Rick stretched his neck to look behind Daryl and frowned, "Shane?" Daryl and Lori followed his line of vision and both tilted their heads to the side. Shane was standing a little ways off, and he looked like he was looking for someone. When he noticed the trio he seemed to relax and walked towards them.

"What's up?" He asked casually and sat down next to Daryl.

"What are you doing here?" Rick asked with a hint of laughter in his voice. It was a little unusual that Shane would spend a Friday night watching kids perform on a school show.

"There's this really hot chick I've been chasing after for the last couple of weeks. Her sister is a teacher, or a coach or maybe even a student. Hell, I wasn't listening. But anyway, she's going to be here tonight and I was hoping that I would _accidentally _run into her tonight." Shane explained and leaned back in his chair before crossing his legs.

"But why the hell would _you _be here? You don't have a kid." Daryl asked.

"You see, I kind of do." Shane said.

"WHAT?" Lori, Rick and Daryl all said at the same time. They're eyes were so wide that Shane was sure that they would pop out of their sockets.

"Oh not really." Shane said once he realized how it sounded. "I lied and told her that I was a single father of my daughter Sophia because my wife died from cancer." He switched his gaze to Daryl and smirked before elbowing him in the side, "Thanks man. I kind of got the idea from you." He laughed. Daryl rolled his eyes.

"Why didn't you use Carl? He looks a lot more like you than Sophia." Rick said and Daryl nodded his agreement.

"Because I knew that Lori would go ape shit if I used him." Shane said, earning a pointed look from Lori.

"And now you've sucked my kid into this?" Daryl asked, "Are you two now going to do some father/daughter bonding in front of that girl?"

Shane snorted, "It's not like I'm marrying her. I'm just gonna sleep with her once and then never call her again." He said. A couple of mother's turned around and glared at Shane.

Shane cleared his throat and leaned closer to Rick and Daryl, a smug look on his face, "You won't believe how good sympathy sex is." He whispered.

xxx

"See? I told you!" Rick laughed when he saw the look on Daryl face when he tasted the food.

"God, it's horrible." Daryl said and put his plate back down, "Thank god for these." He added and popped an Oreo in his mouth.

"Mhm" Rick agreed and took a bite out of his own cookie. Shane sat down next to them, "I can't find her." He mumbled and stole a Oreo from Daryl's plate.

"Hey!" Daryl gasped, but made no effort in stealing it back. Suddenly Shane's eyes widened, "There she is! I'll be right back." He mumbled with his mouth full and jumped out of his seat.

Rick suddenly burst into a fit of laughter, causing Daryl to narrow his eyes. "What's so funny?"

"He-he just-" Rick said between laughs, "He just ate an Oreo." It took a few moments for Daryl to get it, but when he did he couldn't help but to laugh as well. Poor Shane would start talking to the girl with his teeth black. Karma is a bitch.

Sophia walked up to Daryl with Carl trailing behind her. "Did you like it?" She asked and stopped next to her dad.

Daryl nodded, "Yeah. You were great." He said, causing Sophia to grin. Carl sat down next to Rick with a frown on his face.

Rick chuckled, "Still mad about that?" He asked his son.

Carl narrowed his eyes at Rick, "I just can't believe mom wouldn't let me use Judith as baby Jesus."

Rick smiled and shook his head, "It was a long shot. But I still think you were great." He said and patted Carl on the shoulder.

Ten minutes later the kids had disappeared again and Shane sat back down next to Rick and Daryl, and oh boy did he look pissed. Rick was trying as hard as he could to keep the smile off his face, but was unable to and had to hide his face behind a coffee cup. Daryl on the other hand was much more skilled in keeping his poker-face on. He cleared his throat and took a sip of his coffee, "How did it go?" That casual question was enough to make Rick to burst into another fit of laughter.

Daryl could have sworn he saw smoke coming out of Shane's ears, "A little warning would have been nice!" He growled before storming off. Shane could still hear Rick's laughter when he reached Sophia. She was sitting on a bench with a few other girls wearing ballet outfits.

Shane gave her a small smile when he stopped in front of her, he was still trying to cool down after the night's earlier incident. "Hey, Sophia." He said.

Sophia looked up, "Hey."

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Shane asked. Sophia narrowed her eyes, wondering why the big man wanted to talk to her. It wasn't like she didn't trust him, she had just never spent any time with him alone.

"Sure" She finally said and shrugged before standing up. Shane and Sophia walked off to the side so they were standing by the large speakers next to the stage.

"I was wondering if you could do me a favor." Shane said, he just had to impress Andrea now after humiliating himself in front of her.

"What kind of favor?" Sophia said and crossed her small arms over her chest.

"I need you to pretend I'm your dad for the rest of the night, ok? There's this girl I really like and she thinks I'm your dad." Shane explained, hoping that Sophia wouldn't ask why the hell she would think that.

Sophia looked like she was considering it for a moment and Shane was grateful. Well, until she grinned like some villain from a cartoon. "What do I get in return?"

Shane sighed, that evil bastard. "A hug."

Sophia snorted and turned around, ready to walk away. Shane cursed and grabbed her shoulder, forcing her to turn around. "What do you want?" He asked.

"25 bucks. And a ride in your cop car." Sophia answered, the same grin still plastered on her face.

"25 bucks for a one white lie?" Shane asked. Damn that kid was smart. "Fine." He finally mumbled and reached for his wallet, pulling out a the money before handing it over to Sophia. "But you better be convincing." He added. He looked up and saw that Andrea was standing a little ways off. He was about to tell something to Sophia but noticed that she had disappeared, and she was now walking in the direction of Rick and Daryl.

It didn't take long for Shane to reach her, but at that time she was handing the money over to Daryl, probably asking him to take care of it for her. God he hoped he wouldn't ask her how she got it. He would never hear the end of it if Rick and Daryl found out that he had been blackmailed by a freaking 10 year old.

But it seemed like things didn't work out for Shane that night, as Andrea had noticed him and was now walking towards him. He hoped that Sophia wouldn't make him regret this.

"Hey." Andrea said as she stopped in front of him. Shane was blocking her view so she couldn't see Rick, Daryl or Sophia. "Now can I finally meet her?" She added with a smile on her face.

"Yeah." Shane said and cleared his throat. "Uhm, Sophia?" The young girl walked up to him and Shane put his hand on her shoulder, "This is my daughter, Sophia." Shane looked down, hoping to see Sophia with a smile on her face, but she was looking at Andrea with wide eyes.

"Sophia?" Andrea said and narrowed her eyes. She switched her gaze from Sophia to Shane. "Is this some kind of a joke?"

"What?" Shane asked dumbfounded, he seriously had no idea of what was going on.

"Where's your dad?" Andrea asked Sophia with her hands crossed over her chest.

"Uhm, hello! I'm right here." Shane said, he was not ready to give up on his lie. It was his freaking masterpiece.

"Quit the bullshit, Shane." Andrea said. She looked over Shane's shoulder and sighed. "Daryl... Can you explain to me what the hell is going on?"

Shane narrowed his eyes, "Daryl? You know him?"

Daryl awkwardly cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable about being caught in the middle of this whole drama. "Andrea's kinda my lawyer."

"So? What has that to do with anything?"

"She's the lawyer... That gave me Sophia if you could put it that way." Daryl added. In the mean while Rick was desperately fighting for air, his face red from laughter. Shane's face fell. His plan had been perfect, and then one little detail fails and the whole thing goes to shit.

"So you were lying this whole time? Why? Just to get into my pants?" Andrea asked with her hands crossed over her chest.

Shane sighed and closed his eyes. Fucking shit.

xxx

Daryl parked the truck in front of their home. He looked to the side to see that Sophia had fallen asleep. He wasn't surprised, the poor thing had been exhausted. He got out of the car and walked over to the other side. Daryl opened the passenger's door and gently picked up Sophia, closing the car door with his leg before he headed towards the house. When he had gotten back inside Daryl made a beeline towards Sophia's bedroom.

He carefully put Sophia down on the bed, being careful not to wake her. But his plan failed when Sophia stirred awake. "Dad?" She said in a raspy voice.

"Yeah?"

Sophia grinned, her eyes still closed, "You still got the money from Shane, right?"

**Thanks for reading! **


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: I'm really _really_ sorry that I haven't updated for almost a month! It's just that real life has been getting in the way. I never have the time or the energy to write. But this chapter is one of those chapter's that I hate writing because it has drama in it (I both hate and suck at writing drama) and it's kind of a filler chapter, the next one will be better. Thanks for the reviews, I love them all. My computer is still being a retard, so I have no spell check, I hope there won't be too many spelling errors! **

**Hope you guys enjoy this chapter, R&R!**

It was December 22nd and Sophia had forced Daryl to decorate the house. It wasn't a lot, a small Christmas tree, a fake plastic Santa on the kitchen counter and other various things that showed that Christmas were being celebrated in that house. Daryl had never decorated his house for Christmas, or any house that he had ever lived in. They never really celebrated the holiday in the Dixon household. Well, until now.

Daryl had also noticed a few changes with his daughter. The closer they got to Christmas eve, the sadder she got. At first he thought it was odd, he always thought that kids loved Christmas and counted down the days until December 25th. But then that day, it all clicked. He had walked into her room, telling her it was time to wake up when he saw her sitting on her bed. She was holding a framed photo. Daryl knew exactly what that photo was, she had put that thing on her nightstand months ago.

It was a picture of Sophia and her mother. Daryl had never really taken a good look at the picture, just long enough to see who was on it. Sophia was probably around seven in that picture, she was sitting on her mom's lap with pigtails in her hair. They were both looking at each other, smiling.

Daryl's heart ached when he saw her like that. He had lost his mother at her age. But still, he couldn't say that it had affected him that much. His mom had been an alcoholic just like his father, barely acknowledged him for the last few years before she died. Of course he had missed his mother, but her dying hadn't affected his life as much as it did for Sophia. So he didn't know exactly how she felt, but he came close.

He slowly walked into the room, Sophia only noticing him now. Daryl sat down on the bed next to Sophia, his back resting on the wall behind him. He wasn't sure how to comfort her, there had hardly been anyone to comfort him when he was younger.

Sophia finally looked at him, his frown becoming even deeper when he noticed that her eyes were full of tears. She silently handed him the photo and after hesitating for a moment, Daryl accepted it. He finally took a good look at the photograph. Carol was older than when he had met her. Her hair was cut short, and was gray instead of blond like he had remembered it. Her face didn't seem that much older, she had wrinkles around her eyes and mouth. He was shocked how much her hair had changed, but he guessed Ed had forced her to wear it like that.

"She always..." Sophia started but had to stop to take a deep breath. Daryl saw that she was struggling not to cry. "She always-" She tried again but her voice broke. Finally she burst into tears and Daryl didn't hesitate about pulling her into his arms.

Daryl wasn't sure what to say, or if he could say something to make her feel better. Instead he just let her cry. They stayed like that for a few minutes, Sophia desperately clung to his shirt while she sobbed into his chest.

"I just want her back." Sophia said, her voice muffled because her face was still pressed against his chest. "I wish she hadn't died. It's so unfair, she didn't deserve too."

Daryl just tightened his grip on her. It was the first time she had said anything about her mother to him. She had kept it all bottled up and he let her, and he knew it hadn't been right. She should have talked about it all from day one.

"I know." Was all he said. He started to rub her back, one of the few things he remembered his mother doing to him when he was younger, and back when she had been sober.

Sophia readjusted herself so she was pressed against his side instead of his front, her arms wrapped around him. She had finally stopped crying, just sniffing now and then, hoping that the headache that she felt starting to form would go away. "I know that if she wouldn't have died then I never would have met you. My mom and I would still be living with Ed. That's one of the few things that make me feel better. She doesn't have to be afraid or hurt anymore. And neither do I." She said and tightened her grip on Daryl.

They stayed like that, in the same position for twenty minutes and Daryl continued to rub her back. Sophia was just about to fall asleep again when her dad spoke. "You want to visit her grave today?"

Sophia nodded, "Yes."

xxx

Daryl put his car to a stop in front of the cemetery. Sophia had only visited her mother twice since she passed, once with her aunt that Daryl had met very briefly, and one time she went alone. Daryl had never been there, he really didn't know Carol. He had had plenty of one night stands, and never spared them a second glance after that. But Carol was the mother of his child, they did have some kind of bond.

It was freezing outside that day. It wasn't snowing, but definitely cold enough to make you want to spend your day at home under a warm blanket.

"You want to go alone?" Daryl asked. Sophia hesitated for a moment before shaking her head no. They both stepped out of the car at the same time and started to make their way towards Carol's grave. Sophia surprised Daryl by slipping her small hand into his large one. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze, knowing that she needed the support.

It was clear that Sophia knew exactly where she was going as she stopped in front of one of the graves. Daryl stood of by the side, giving Sophia some privacy as she kneeled down in front of her mother's grave. Daryl had never seen Sophia looking so sad, and it broke his heart seeing her like that. Sophia put her hand on the tombstone, stroking her hand lovingly over the picture of Carol. A few minutes she stood up, not even acknowledging her dad as she headed towards the car.

Daryl watched her go, his hands in the pockets of his jacket. When he saw that Sophia was inside the car, he finally took a few steps forward, stopping when he reached the grave. He looked at the picture of Carol. They had probably used a picture of her taken 10 years ago, since she looked just like Daryl had remembered her. Her blonde hair, freckles and smile all reminded him of their daughter.

Not sure what else to do, Daryl put his hand on the top of the tombstone, letting it stay there for a few seconds before pulling away. He stared at the picture for a few moments before finally walking back to the car.

Sophia was sitting silent in her seat when he sat down in the car. "You alright?" Daryl asked. It was a stupid question, he thought, of course she wasn't alright. Sophia just shrugged, her arms wrapped around her small frame. The drive back to the house was silent, the only thing they could hear was the song on the radio that was being played, a cheesy Christmas song that neither of them really wanted to listen too.

"You're still going to sleep over at Carl's house? I'm sure that will make you feel better." Daryl asked as he parked his car in front of their house.

"Yeah, I'm still going. Carl and I have the whole night planned, wouldn't want to ruin that."

xxx

Daryl put his truck in park in front of the Grimes house. He was glad that Sophia was feeling better since that morning, maybe she just needed to get that out of her system. "Have fun. And no Lego death traps this time." He said and gave his daughter a playful smile when she opened the passenger door.

"Then tell Rick not to come back home drunk again." She replied with a smile on her face and gave her dad a wave before stepping out of the car and shutting the door behind her. When she was halfway towards the house and Daryl was about to drive back home, he saw Rick open the front door. The cop started making his way towards his friend with a smile that Daryl knew all too well.

"Hey." Rick said and leaned against the window that Daryl had opened.

"Hey." Daryl replied. Rick must have known that Daryl was suspecting something, causing him to grin. "Wanna go out tonight?"

Daryl groaned and started tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, he had planned on buying beer and falling asleep in front of the TV. Now he had to drink beer around other people, he didn't like that. "I'm not sure." He mumbled.

"Come on man, it's not like we're getting drunk or anything. Just a few beers." Rick said, the smile still plastered on his face.

Daryl sighed, "Fine."

xxx

"So why are you out at a bar on Christmas instead of spending time with your family?" Daryl asked as he and Rick sat down on the only available table they could see.

Rick sighed, "It's nothing. Lori and I kind of had a fight this afternoon."

Daryl nodded, "You've been having a lot of those for the last few weeks." He said, causing Rick to shrug like it didn't bother him. Although Daryl knew it was bothering him, Rick loved his wife and family, he couldn't deny the fact that fighting with Lori wasn't something he enjoyed doing. "It's just... never mind, let's talk about something more fun." Rick said and gave his friend a tight smile.

Thirty minutes and three beers later, Rick was looking around the bar, looking for a cute girl. His gaze landed on a young girl sitting by the bar. She was thin, tall and her brown hair was cut short, just below her ears. Daryl followed Rick's line of vision and frowned. "Dude," He said, causing Rick to look at him, "I know that you're pissed but you sure are going to regret this in the morning."

Rick frowned, "Oh god no! I could never cheat on Lori." His frown turned into a small smile, "I was looking for someone you could go home with tonight."

Daryl shifted uncomfortably in his seat, "I don't think so."

Rick sighed, "Alright, just trying to be a good friend." He said and stood up, grabbing his empty beer bottle. "You wan't another one?" He asked and pointed at Daryl's also empty bottle.

Daryl shrugged, "Sure. Thanks." Rick grabbed the bottles and made his way towards the bar. He stopped next to the brunette and waited for the bartender to serve him next. He used the time he had to take a good look at the girl. She had small breasts, but was really cute. He couldn't help but to find her a little familiar.

"What can I get you?"

Rick finally tore his eyes from the girl and gave the bartender a small smile. "Two beers please." After paying for the drinks, he turned to look at the girl.

"Hi." He said and smiled at her. The girl looked up from her phone and gave him a smile, "Hi."

It had been ten minutes since Rick had left the table and Daryl was starting to get inpatient. He looked away from the small TV set in the corner and scanned the bar for his friend. He mumbled a curse under his breath when he finally found him. He was talking to the girl, occasionally looking at him before looking back at the girl.

A couple of minutes Rick finally stood up from the stool he had been sitting on, but to Daryl's luck, the girl stood up as well and the pair made their way towards Daryl. "Maggie, this is Daryl. Daryl this is Maggie."

Maggie gave him a bright smile and tilted her head to the side, "We know each other."

"You do?"

"Yeah, she was a nurse at the hospital I was staying at." Daryl filled Rick in. Maggie planted herself next to him, and Daryl scooted closer to the wall so she would have more space.

They started having a light conversation, well, Rick and Maggie did most of the talking. Twenty minutes later Rick's phone started ringing. "Hello."

Daryl and Maggie were silent while Rick was on the phone, "Oh, hi Lori." Rick said, his voice losing the cheeriness from earlier. "Yeah, I'm at the bar."

Maggie looked over at Daryl, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "His wife." Daryl whispered. Maggie nodded and took another sip of her drink.

"No Lori, I don't know where Judith's pacifier is." Rick said, obviously getting frustrated. "No, I don't. It's not like I carry the thing in my... pocket." Rick said, his lips forming a tight line when he pulled out a pink pacifier from his pants pocket.

"Damn it," He mumbled and stood up, "Yeah, I'll be right there." He said before hanging up the phone. He looked at Daryl and Maggie, "Sorry guys. Baby emergency."

Maggie let out a small laugh and stood up. At first Daryl thought she was going to leave, but she suprised him by sitting down across from him. "How's Sophia?" She asked.

"She's fine." Daryl replied.

xxx

An hour later, Maggie and Daryl we're in deep conversation. He was suprised how easy it was for him to talk to her, usually he hated talking to people he wasn't close to, but Maggie was different.

"So, because of my huge debt, I had to move back in with my dad." Maggie finished, pulling Daryl out of his thoughts.

"That must suck." He said and took another sip of his drink. Maggie shrugged, "Nah, it's alright. It can be a little crowded sometimes, since my little sister and step brother still live there too."

"Why did you become a nurse?" Daryl asked, trying not to get caught staring at her chest. He wasn't the type of guy that would usually stare at women, but she was wearing a very revealing shirt and well... he was still a man. And it had been _way_ too long since he'd been with a woman.

"I love helping people, and my dad is a doctor. I've always wanted to be like him, ever since I was little. But being a nurse suited me better than being a doctor." Maggie answered, a small smile on her lips.

Daryl couldn't help but to laugh a few minutes later after Maggie had told him a story about a crazy patient. He was really starting to like that girl. She wasn't like the other women he was usually around. She was funny, smart and caring. And even though she was wearing a revealing shirt, he knew that she wasn't a slut.

"But where's Sophia? At her mother's place?" Maggie asked. Just as Daryl was about to answer, a man walked up to their table. The man pulled Maggie into a long kiss, causing Daryl to awkwardly shift in his seat.

"Hi babe." The man said once he had pulled away. He was young, no more than 27. He was wearing a leather jacket and black jeans, obviously the type that thought he could kick anyone's ass. His black hair had probably half a can of gel in it, Daryl would be suprised if he was able to move the hair.

"Hi," Maggie smiled and then quickly introduced the two men, "Daryl this is Mike, my boyfriend. Mike this is Daryl, a friend of mine."

Mike pulled Daryl's hand into a very firm handshake, a cocky grin on his face. "Nice too meet you bro." Mike pulled his hand away and turned to look at Maggie. "Sorry I took so long. Andrew needed help with something. But, ready to go?" Mike asked.

"Yeah." Maggie said and stood up, "It was really nice running into you, Daryl. Tell Sophia I said hi." She said and smiled at him. Daryl only nodded in response and watched the couple walk out of the bar.

That's it. Women suck.

**A/N: There was a reason why Maggie is with Mike instead of Glenn in this story, and it will all be explained in the next few chapters. **

**Thanks for reading! **


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